To Live For Those Who Can't
by The Lesson Teacher
Summary: When a UANS ship heads on a exploratory mission into a nearby galaxy, they discover a galaxy at war with itself. They will meet friends and foes, once again enter a war, but one for peace. Rewrite being planed and looking for beta readers! Sorry!
1. Prologue

**_Prologue_**

**_Author's Notes:_**

**First off people, I do not own Halo or Star Wars, and neither do I own Master Chief 117, Thel 'Vadam, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoko Tano, or any other characters from both universes. I do own my own OCs and my changes to this story. This is my first fan fiction, not to mention my first story ever to write. So please give me comments on what you think so far.**

**And this prologue takes places years before the main story so don't get all confused. I will come back to this area in a future chapter. So, don't get mad at me when the first chapter is uploaded and none of the timeline makes sense to you. This will all come back around at a future date.**

**Now, enjoy the prologue to "**_**To Live For Those Who Can't**_**."**

**Feel free to give reviews, both positive and negative, on what you think so far.**

**Updated**

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Place: Unknown location in space

Time: Unknown

An object of massive size drifts through space towards the unknown. For far too long, this object has drifted, looking for a place to go. Years have gone by, without any luck at all. But today, the journey finally comes to an end.

As a planet finally appears over the horizon, to become the resting place for the object. As the object nears, the planet's sun causes a glare to appear around the planet, causing us to not see what the planet looks like. But as the object nears, the glare disappears, revealing a lust green and blue planet.

As the object enters the atmosphere, our point of view goes to another's, someone on the planet right then.

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On the planet named Kashyyyk, the Wookiee home world, a female Twi'lek, named Mayala Baola, was looking up into the sky, thinking about life and the Force. For she was a Jedi Knight of the Jedi Order of the Republic, and she was here to study the ways of the Wookiees to better understand them.

She had come here also to try to understand a little more about their history. According to the Wookiees, they once lived on another world, but then great beings had brought their ancestors to this world after their old world had been destroyed in a great flood. While many other people in the galaxy believed this as just a legend, all Wookiees believed this as the one and only truth.

The reason Mayala was interested in this legend was because the Twi'leks, the Togrutas, and several other races had a legend similar to the Wookiees. Even if most did not believe in this legend, Mayala wondered if there was somehow a connection between all of them. So, Mayala requested to come to Kashyyyk to study the life on the planet and its connection to the Force, while at the same time try to figure out where the legend came from and how all of them could have such a similar legend even before they had discovered each other. It was strange.

Before Mayala left the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, she paid a visit to her old friend Jedi Knight Aayla Secura and said her good byes. Mayala was a strange Jedi; she could control her emotions better than others and did not become emotional when fighting. But when she wasn't on an important mission or in front of an audience, she would kid around with everyone around. She even joked to Aayla about if the Jedi Order didn't forbid relationships, Aayla and Kit Fisto would probably be the talk of the town. That usually got a funny reaction from Aayla.

As she was remembering all of this, Mayala notice a Wookiee coming towards her. It was her friend Zappldaa, which meant "High Jumper" in Wookiee. Zappldaa had invited Mayala to stay in her family's hut while she was here. The two had been close friends since Mayala was a Padawan and had saved Zappldaa. Zappldaa had then offered Mayala her life dept. Since then, Mayala would sometimes offer her to join a mission she and her master went on from time to time, when it wasn't too dangerous. Ever since, they had been close friends. When Mayala didn't need Zappldaa's help, she was in her village on Kashyyyk.

But when Mayala looked up to her friend, she noticed something was not right. Zappldaa had a face that was somewhere between worry and downright scared. Mayala could not imagine what could scare Zappldaa, or any Wookiee, in such a way. Zappldaa carried her trustee ryyk blade in her hand and her bowcaster on her back. She was prepared for a fight. As Zappldaa neared, Mayala got up from lying in the leaves of the wroshyr tree she was in to jump from the branch to the tree bridge. As the two neared, Mayala asked, "Zappldaa, what is wrong, is someone attacking?"

Zappldaa then answered by letting out a growl and pointing up into the sky. Mayala looked where Zappldaa was pointing and gasped. Falling from the sky was a huge fireball of a massive size that Mayala wondered how she had not noticed it before. Mayala mentally slapped herself for letting her mind wonder once again. Mayala then realized what was going on, Zappldaa and the rest of the Wookiees in the area were preparing to help deal with a forest fire of massive proportions. And Mayala knew she had to help.

As she gathered herself, she sprinted with Zappldaa and other Wookiees to a nearby river to help deal with the fire when it came. They knew that there was no way to stop the fireball, but if they worked quick enough, they could stop the fire that was to come from spreading to far and save much of the jungle.

With the preparations done, they all waited. Twi'lek and Wookiee stood together and waited for the roar that was to come and the earthquake it would cause. And then it hit, the massive fireball impacted with the ground several miles away and shook the entire planet, forcing even the strongest Wookiee adult to their knees. After the shock wave faded, everyone charged towards the impact and the forest fire it had started.

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Several hours after the impact, the forest fire had nearly been taken care of. There were still a few flames and hot patches here and there, but they were being dealt with. Mayala and Zappldaa were resting and trying to catch their breath. It had been a hard fought battle, but it had been worth it. The fire and the impact of the fireball had only destroyed a small portion of the massive jungle, but the jungle would heal with time. Mayala emotionally thanked the Force, for she feared if they hadn't been as prepared as they were, the entire planet may had been lost to the flames.

Mayala and Zappldaa had been walking for a while looking and taking care of patches that could restart the fire when they stumbled upon the impact mark the fireball had made, and it went on for a few miles and ended with the last thing either of them had suspected. The fireball had really been a ship of unknown class, and the strangest thing about it was that it look like it had been ripped in half.

As the two approached the ship, Mayala igniting her violet lightsaber in her reverse-grip Form IV: Ataru style and Zappldaa drawing her bowcaster, Mayala sensed something in the Force. There were two presences on the ship, weak presences, but still alive. As Mayala turned to Zappldaa, she gave Mayala a knowing look. The two then entered the ship where so very long ago, only legends walked.

_A new legacy is about to begin. With the help of new and old friends, a new hope lives now for a great evil that will appear many years from now. To be continue…_


	2. The Mission

**_Chapter 1 – The Mission_**

**Author's Notes:**

**First off, I don't really know any of the ages for the characters of the Star Wars series, so I will be taking estimated guesses with ages when I come to them. Also, I am making Ahsoko 16 years old for this story, one being I don't really know how old she is in the true story line and second, I want to do something with this later. Just wait and watch. Casholu and the new San' Shyuum are my OC. I also don't own any songs or books I may mention. Also, not really any action in this chapter, but there will be a little action in the next chapter.**

**Now, enjoy chapter 1 of "To Live For Those Who Can't."**

**Also, feel free to review what you think so far of this story and give me advice when you think it is needed.**

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_After Battle of the Ark Timeline:_

Many things have happened since the Battle of the Ark, the battle that decided the fate of the entire galaxy.

After the battle, the humans and the Sangheili set out to deal with any remaining Covenant Loyalists still at large. Before long, many of the members of the Covenant species discovered the truth from the Sangheili. That Truth, Mercy, and Regret had lied to them all. That the reason that the Prophets wished to wipe out humanity was not that they were all heretics to the Forerunners, but that they were the Reclaimers, the children of the Forerunners. This outraged many, for they had been told to kill the children of their gods, just so that the bloody Prophets could control the whole Covenant without fear. So, in response, many joined the human/Sangheili alliance to make the Covenant Loyalists pay for tricking them.

As the hunt went on for the remaining Loyalists, the former species of the Covenant discovered the truth about the Forerunners. That they were not gods, but mere mortals, and that there was no Great Journey, and that activating the Halos would kill them all. This was revealed to them by Thel 'Vadam "The Arbiter", who said this was revealed to him by the monitor of Installation 04, Guilty Spark, on both Installation 05 and at the Ark, where Spark's had revealed the human race as the Forerunners themselves. That the reason that the Halos were made was to save them all from the Flood and that the Forerunners had brought all of their ancestors to the Ark, where it was safe from the Halo Array, so that life would go on after they were gone. Also, something discovered was why they cared about all their lives in the first place. It was discovered from the ruins on Reach, that the Forerunners followed a philosophy, called the "Mantle", which was passed down to them from an even more ancient and advanced race called the Precursors. Though no translation has yet to be discovered, it is believed that this philosophy is what made them believe they had authority and a duty to protect all of the life in the galaxy.

When this was discovered, it sent a roar through all of the races. They decided to follow in the Precursors and Forerunners legacy. They set out to preserve all life within the galaxy, even to the cost of their lives. And for their first test, they would end the war that they had started and the Loyalists were continuing.

By 2563, almost all of the Loyalists were in prison, dead, or had joined the other races, which had decided to unite and be called the UANS, or United Alliance of National Species. With this alliance, all of the former Covenant and UNSC ships were upgraded with both Covenant technology, faster slipspace drives, and UNSC technology, better AIs and MAC guns. There were just a handful of Loyalist ships left out of what was once a mighty empire, run by rogue Jiralhanae and the rest of the San 'Shyuum race, who wanted their power back.

In the final battle in 2566, aid came from an unlikely and unknown ally. When a fleet of 250 UANS ships faced off against the remaining 500 Loyalists ships, the hope that the UANS was to survive this without heavy casualties had nearly died. But just then, slipspace portals appeared behind the Loyalists lines and out came 2,000 ships, 30 of them being of old UNSC design, 30 Covenant design, and the rest being of Forerunner and unknown design. The unknown ships looked between a mix of all three ship designs combined. When a transmission came from the unknown fleet, the UANS answered it and got the biggest surprise of their lives. The one leading the fleet was none other than Vice Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole, who had somehow survived his "_Last Stand_" and had been out recruiting new friends against the Covenant. But, the identity of these friends was the biggest surprise to both sides, it literally left both the Loyalists and UANS forces speechless.

For the unknown ships were all commanded and filled with a race that no one thought they would ever trust again. They were San' Shyuum ships. Vice Admiral Cole then went on to explain that these were not the San' Shyuum who had controlled the Covenant for eons, but the San' Shyuum that had remained on their home world of Casholu, the Stoics, who had wished to not study and trespass on the Forerunner ruins. He would later go on to explain that after the Reformists had left the world with the Forerunner Dreadnought and a big chunk of their planet, the Stoics had discovered the same truth that the UANS now knew and the Stoics knew what they had to do. They had to find a way to follow the Reformists and stop them from doing unspeakable harm, no matter how long it took to do it. Over the centuries, they never forgot and worked gradually to reach a point in technology based off their own and Forerunner, that they could head out and put an end to what should have ended long ago. They eventually reached a point in technology that allowed them into space, but not to get far enough to stop the Reformists.

Then one day, in the year 2543, Vice Admiral Cole's ship, the _UNSC Everest_, jumped from a random slipspace jump right above Casholu. The San' Shyuum immediately sent a message to the ship, hoping for peace. When Vice Admiral Cole received the message, he instantly recognized the race as members of the Covenant. Right before he ordered his men to shoot and kill them all, his comm officer translated the message and told Cole that they were asking if they had seen any others of their kind in space.

Cole became confused with this message, he then told his comm officer to send a message to the San' Shyuum requesting a meeting between the two. The two groups met on the _Everest _and gave each other all the information that the two groups knew. The San' Shyuum were divested by the news of what they had let the Reformists do to the galaxy and told Cole they could never be forgiven. Cole was equally shocked when he discovered what the Reformists had done and the power the Forerunners had. He knew right then and there that these Forerunners were the Covenant's gods and that the Halos were their key to the Great Journey, the journey to death. When this was done, they decided they must work together to stop the Prophets and the Covenant. The leader of the Stoics thought something was familiar about the human race and wondered why the Prophets would want them dead so bad.

The leader, Salousei, asked for Cole to come planet side to visit some Forerunner ruins. Cole agreed and left with the ship prepared just in case of a sneak attack. When they arrived at the ruins, Cole, Salousei, and all of their men present headed in and were amazed into wonderment. Cole mentally thought to himself that the runes on the walls somehow looked familiar, though he knew that he had never seen them in his entire life. They then reached a dead end, with a platform in the middle of the floor. Salousei then asked Cole to place his palm on the device. Salousei had a theory about why the Prophets wanted humanity dead, and he wanted to test it on Cole.

Cole did as he was told, not to be polite, but because somehow it felt right. As his palm touch the device, holograms appeared and started blinking. Then slowly the area they were in started lowering, revealing it to be an elevator. When it stop, both human and San' Shyuum gasped. Before them were hundreds of Forerunner ships and Sentinels. Salousei then yet out a laugh that surprised everyone, even the San' Shyuum there. Salousei then went on to explain this was why the Prophets wanted humanity dead. The humans were the Reclaimers, the children of the Forerunners. The other San' Shyuum then also realized this truth and agreed. They told Cole that though Forerunner technology could be reverse engineered in time, it would immediately activate with a touch from a Forerunner or a genetic descendent, aka humanity. This was why the Prophets were so determine to exterminate the human race. For, if the Covenant truly worshiped the Forerunners as gods, humanity, being their children, would rule the Covenant's loyalty, not the Prophets.

Cole immediately saw this as the truth and that it made complete sense. Cole and Salousei now saw a chance to end this. So, the two groups put plans into motion to help defend humanity and stop the Prophets. Using the _Everest_, some of the San' Shyuum ships upgraded with slipspace engines, and some of the Forerunner ships, the alliance set out to stall for time. While more of the San' Shyuum ships were upgraded, this small fleet dealt hell to the Covenant. They would surprise small patrols of Covenant ships, which were alone and/or attacking UNSC ships, disable them so that they could not escape or call for help. This would make the Covenant and the Prophets think the humans had done it, instead of this human/San' Shyuum alliance. When the ships were disabled, the San' Shyuum would then send a message to the Covenant ships to surrender and not fire on any ships present, while Cole contacted the UNSC ships and told them the same. When this was done, all of the ships would quickly jump back to Casholu. There, the UNSC ships were told about the operation Cole was undergoing and that they had to keep this a secret and play dead for a while. The San' Shyuum then also told all of the personnel on the Covenant ships the truth and presented them proof. The Covenant forces were outraged at how they had all been tricked by the Prophets and joined the alliance. Then, both new recruits would tell them of the current situation. The alliance also got news of the war by intercepting transmissions from both parties.

Later on, the UANS learned that when the fleet was almost complete, the alliance received news of the discovery of Reach and its falling. As time went on, they heard even more news that shook them. The discovery of the first Halo and the return of the Flood, the discovery of Earth, the second Halo, the Flood heading towards Earth, and the Covenant heading to the Ark. This news had nearly made them all give up. But, hope arrived that made them more determined then ever. The destruction of the first Halo and the Flood on it, the Great Schism, the deaths of Truth, Regret, and Mercy, and the eradication of the Gravemind and the Flood on the Ark by the firing of a new and weak Halo. But, the one thing that gave all of them hope were the Spartans. They all knew that most of the MIA Spartans had really been KIA and that they were keeping it a secret to keep morale up, but it still didn't stop inspiring them to continue with their plan. The one Spartan that encourage them the most was Master Chief Spartan-117. He who had stop the Flood and the Covenant on the first Halo, he who had destroyed the first Halo, he who had killed the Prophet of Regret, he who defended Earth and then went to the Ark to finish the fight. With his death, many would think the secret alliance would brake down and weep. But, instead, it became stronger than ever and the alliance increased their speed ten fold. They saw the Chief as a true descendent of the Forerunners and worthy of the title "_Protector of Life_". They built a statue of him in his honor on the site were the Reformists had left long ago. Soon they were ready to finish what he started. They set out on March 17th of 2560, to help in the fight with the Loyalists.

They had been on the opposite side of the Loyalists and the UANS, so they took care of any Loyalists they came upon, which were too far away from the rest of the Loyalists and the UANS forces to info anyone, so no one knew about them. Then when they heard the last of the Loyalists were fighting a last stand with a small UANS fleet that needed help, they came with aid.

After the basic information was exchanged and it was confirmed that the fleet that had appeared was on the UANS' side, they prepared for one of the bloodiest fights the galaxy had seen. The Loyalists saw that they were outnumbered, outgunned, and outwitted all at once, but they refused to back down. While a few decided to abandon ship and surrender, most of the Loyalists fleet charged the new fleet. Attacking all of the Loyalists ships that were charging, the UANS and their new friends obliterated the Loyalists within minutes, without losing a single ship.

The fleet then picked up the Loyalists that had surrendered and abandoned their ships. The combined fleet then jumped back to Earth to celebrate the end of the war at last. Several days later, the San' Shyuum official joined the UANS and the UANS became an official power in the Milky Way galaxy. The UANS decided that they would continue getting the UANS more organized after everyone's wounds had heal. Humanity decided first it had to reterraform all of the worlds that had been glassed back to what they once were. One of the first was Reach. But something happened that humanity did not see coming, every other race decided to help with the terraforming of the glassed worlds. Humanity accepted the help and soon all the worlds that had been glassed were terraformed back to what they were by the year 2572, with new worlds being discovered and being terraformed as well.

The races of the Milky Way had come to see each other in a new light. They had fought side by side in the darkest moment in their history and won. They had come to terms with each other and determined that they could not blame each other for the lies the Prophets had told them and the actions they had ordered them to do. Soon, on many worlds, the children of all the races were seen playing and having fun together as if they had always been friends. With this, the UANS, gave all the planets a little more freedom and allowed most worlds to make their own laws, as long as they stayed in contact with the UANS and acted fair to all races. The laws would be passed that affected the whole UANS by a small Senate of races with ten representatives for each race with one vote for each member, except with the Mgalekgolo, who had twenty representatives, due to bond brothers, with each two counting as one vote. Should a world or person have a problem about their world or another's, they would contact the Senate and an investigation would begin.

The UANS decided that its main goal was to help keep peace with each other, but they also had other goals. One was to continue exploring the rest of the Milky Way, looking for more Forerunner ruins and other sentient races that had been saved and could join the UANS. There was one major act that the UANS committed that would shake all the races. Everyone wanted to know everything about the Master Chief and his Spartan family. When ONI refused to reveal anything, the UANS acted and discovered the truth, that the Spartan IIs had all been put into the program when they were children and had been kidnapped, as well as a secret Spartan III program, which sent weaker, teenage Spartans to their deaths in suicide missions, with nearly any ever coming back alive. After this was discovered, all ONI personnel who were involved and hid this truth were arrested and ONI was reorganized into the OAI, the Office of Alliance Intelligence, in the year 2575. OAI would one year later request to begin the Spartan IV project. While at first not wanting to see the same things as before again, the UANS eventually agreed, with the Spartan's having to be at least 18 years of age, volunteer on their on accord, and that none would die in the training or from the augmentations. The UANS would make sure to keep their eyes on OAI, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

But the most important mission of all was to look for the remaining Halos. If a Halo was found, the Chief Protocol was to be ordered. The Chief Protocol stated that when a Halo was found, no digging or opening of doors was to be allowed, to prevent the risk of releasing the Flood back on the galaxy. The captain of the ship must immediately contact the UANS senate and then go to the Halo firing room, with at least one human, to await the arrival of the monitor of said Halo. When contact is made, the human must ask if there is any Flood on said Halo. If there is, ask the monitor to destroy all Flood specimens. Another is to ask if it can disable Halo, so it can no longer be used as a weapon. If both are possible, UANS scientists will arrive shortly to begin study of Halo and Forerunner technology much better. If monitor will not comply, wait for higher personnel to arrive and hope that the monitor will listen to them. If there is a Flood epidemic or someone tries to fire said Halo, the ship must immediately use a Nova Bomb to destroy Halo. If ship does not have a Nova Bomb, wait for reinforcements with a Nova Bomb and hold off the escape of all Flood infested ships, or any ships approaching the Halo and not responding to communication attempts.

But now, I think it is time for the real story to begin.

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Present day – UANS calendar 2600: 47 years after the Battle of the Ark

Place: On board the _UANS Avery Johnson_ stationed above the UANS colony Zeus.

Time: 0350 hours, November 20th, 2600

The _UANS Avery Johnson_ was lying quite. Most of its crew was asleep, leaving only a skeleton crew to look over the engines and other important positions on the bridge. There were a few others awake, due to numerous reasons, but other then that, the ship was as quiet as the great emptiness of space outside.

The _UANS Avery Johnson _was an experimental stealth frigate of the UANS. With being nearly 800 meters long, 230 meter wide, and 200 meters tall, the _Avery Johnson_ was the best frigate class ship being made now. The _Avery Johnson _looked like the narrow gun barrel-like form of the old UNSC ships combined with the curved sides of the old Covenant ships, but instead of the ship being a gun gray or purple color, the ship was like all current UANS ships, a green color. It, like all of the UANS ships was made of a combination of Covenant metal and UNSC titanium, so that is was both durable and graceful at the same time. They also had the latest upgraded slipspace drive, shield and weapon systems, and the most advanced AIs, which could now live up to 50 years without going rampant, due to upgrades made by the UANS and by studying data collected from Forerunner outposts that were discovered. The UANS ships were still using a trick they had learned during the war. The bridge was still located in the center of the ship, so that if the front of the ship was hit, all the major personnel would not die in an instant.

But, the _Avery Johnson_ had the best and brightest upgrades, personnel, shields, and weapons, making it the most prized frigate in the entire UANS. It was equipped with two MAC guns, multiple pulse lasers and point-defense guns that fired a combination of metal shells filled with superheated plasma, and several Vortex missile pods, which was a combination of Archer missile pods and Plasma Torpedoes. It also had the latest armory filled with the newest weapons and an extra large hanger with the newest military vehicles. The entire crew was a combination of all the races and they all were the best of friends. They were proud to be on the same ship together and wouldn't have it any other way. They were the true symbol of what the UANS was all about. On the ship right then was, a crew of about 900 members, who knew how to fight and defend to the death.

At this time, Sangheili Shipmaster Clador 'Taluo was in his gravity chair on the bridge. He was going over the report of the last mission they had been on. It had been a successful mission. They were to save a bunch of civilians from a bunch of xenophobes that were going to kill all of the alien civilians that they had taken hostage at a TV station. The team he had sent in had completed the mission in half an hour, without the lost of one life, with all of the xenophobe crazies being arrested. His team was the best in the entire UANS and everyone knew that. That was why they had given him, his team, and his entire ship and crew a very important mission.

He pressed a button on his chair and activated the ship's comm system. "Attention crew," he began, "please report to the hanger for a debrief on our next assignment." After the message was broadcast he left the bridge, with a few crewmembers that already knew the assignment and the AI of the _Avery Johnson_, Athena, in charge till he got back. Athena was one of the best AIs in the UANS and Clador was proud to have her. He and the entire crew considered her as important as any one of them. They all trusted her with their lives and she trusted them with hers.

As Clador approached the hanger, he passed by open barracks with the crew just waking up. Now, with the new slipspace drives, cryo pods were no longer really needed, unless on long deep space missions or if someone was in need of critical care. The crew all gave the expressions of their races waking up from wonderful dreams and a great night's sleep.

Clador then reached the door to the hanger and it open slowly and there was to Clador's unsurprised face, his special ops team, Team Epsilon. He knew they would already be up and in the hanger training and preparing for the next mission. They were a miss match group of all the races that made up the UANS and they were the best that everyone could deliver. They were made up of: two Kig-yar, one being a Skirmisher, a pair of Mgalekgolo bond brothers, one Unggoy, one San' Shyuum, one Huragok, one Yanme'e, one Jiralhanae, two Sangheili, and one human. The human, Max, was the captain of Team Epsilon and also the youngest and best Spartan IV. He had volunteered for the Spartan IV project when he was 12 and after a while, the UANS had decided to let him in. After just three years, he had finished his training, in record timing, and survived new experimental augmentations that had a survival rate of 5%, without any problems. He was given the newest armor, a red armor called the Hayabusa Powered Mark VII Assault Armor, with a helmet that looked like some sort of ancient samurai helmet. He also had two rods magnetically attached to the center of his chest plate. They were an experimental new type of energy swords called the energy katanas. An old Sangheili friend of his, who believed that they suited him the best, and that they went well with the armor greatly, had given them to him. He was standing at attention at the front of the group near the hangar doors.

The rest of the team consisted of several very special specialists. First was Team Epsilon's second in command and assassin Special Operations Major Caltore 'Voltar, in his classic all-dark black armor, right behind his captain. Second was Minor Alue 'Vadam in her olive green/gold armor with runes covering some of it, the team's close combat and martial artist specialist, and the daughter of Thel 'Vadam. She may have been the Arbiter's daughter, but she did not rely on who her father was, she had her own legacy to make, and she was already making it. She was sitting on the ground, mediating, with her katana blade held in front of her and the blade pointed at the ground. Then there was the Unggoy, Major Heavy Lelek, the team's demo man, in his fire orange armor with black smudges all over it and the Huragok, Minor Just Right, who was the team's engineer and medic and who preferred to be called by his codename "Fixer", in his pinkish armor who were the best of friends. Up against the wall were the two Mgalekgolo bond brothers, Major Kalmar Haic Dalma and Major Jala Haic Spolau, in their blue/green-stripped armor and green/blue-striped armor respectively, they were the team's heavy weapons specialists. Sitting in a chair was a San 'Shyuum, Major Jalo Kialo, a former OAI spook, with a gray armor that protected his brain, neck, and chest mostly, reading a book. He was the team's spy and researcher. Clador noticed the book was titled "_Brisingr_". Also in the hanger was a Jiralhanae, Major Brutus, who had a thinking look on his face and who was lying on his back with his pure white armor on that had one skull painted on each shoulder plate. Up above was a Yanme'e, Major Diblo, in a shinning purple armor, with a device on his arm hooked up to the ship's systems. On a crate was a Kig-yar, Major Mok, in dark brown armor that was wiping down his grandfather's old Beam Rifle. In the corner, was a Kig-yar Skirmisher, Major Champion Dax, with a custom human hunter's outfit, a robotic left arm, and who was currently sharpening a Jackal Knife. They were the best of the best, and they were determined to prove it to everyone that met them.

After about 15 more minutes, the rest of the crew of the _Avery Johnson_ arrived in the hanger. Clador walked to the front of his crew and looked at all their faces. They were all ready for their new mission and would follow his orders to the end. He was proud of his crew and could not think of any other crew he would like to die with. He then spoke in a calm, yet strong voice, "Alright people. The higher ups have given us a new mission. A little while back, a group of Forerunner researchers discovered the location of an unidentified planet in some Forerunner ruins. This caused are leaders to send a pod to the coordinates discovered and it sent us picks of a desert world in a galaxy just next door to our dear little galaxy. The pod also picked up strange energy readings before coming back to report. Our mission is to go to the planet, secure an area to land near the location of where the coordinates tell the ruins are, and then wait till a back up group arrives with Forerunner researchers to study them. We are going in hot people, due to the unexplained energy signatures and that we are the first in our mighty UANS to officially leave our home galaxy. We may come into contact with another race, so be prepare for all First Contact scenarios. If they want peace, we will show them how kind and peaceful the UANS can be. If they want war, we will show them how angry and powerful the UANS can be. Now let us set out and prepare for what ever happens. We will follow in the Forerunners and the Precursors that came before them. We will learn what they learned so long ago. For The Mantle!"

"For The Mantle!" shouted everyone in the hanger.

"We will arrive at the planet in two days, since it is on the very edge of the new galaxy. May our ancestors watch over us and be proud of us. Good luck and be prepared for when we arrive," Clador told his crew.

After that everyone left to do his or her own things. Some went back to bed to get a few more hours of sleep, but most were up and about. They were too excited by this news and were now trying to find something to do. Most were going to the training arena or weapons range to practice their skills. Some were staying in the hanger to work on the vehicles and making sure they were ready for action, just in case. While the rest went to the mediation/library to either read one of the many books the ship had or to mediate, relax, and clear their minds.

When Clador reached the bridge, he discovered he had been followed. Right behind him came Team Epsilon. "Come to see the show," Clador asked.

"Yeah," Alue answered.

Just then, a white slipspace portal appeared and the ship went through the portal. Then there was nothing but the black of slipspace.

Caltore then spoke what was on his mind. He asked, "So we head into the unknown once more, Max?"

"Yeah," Max replied, "Just another day at the office. Athena would you be so kind is to give us a little tunes?"

"Of course Max," came the sassy AIs voice. Then a song started playing that was titled "_To The Sky: By Owl City_".

* * *

Meanwhile, in another galaxy…

On a triangle shaped ship, the crew is about to receive a new mission as well.

General Obi-Wan Kenobi was at the bridge of his Venator-class Star Destroyer, the _Spirit Adventurer_, waiting for Anakin and his Padawan Ahsoka. They were to talk to the Jedi High Council and Chancellor Palpatine about the next mission that they were going to be assigned. Anakin had just finished making another reckless and dangerous stunt that had somehow left a gigantic crater on a moon of a nearby planet. And to say that the Council was angry was putting it nicely. They were furious, especially Mace Windu. Anakin just could not stay out of any trouble on any missions, even if he tried.

But, if there was one thing that Obi-Wan did not need to be worried about, it was Ahsoka. Though she could be hyperactive at times, she had learned over the last 3 years of this war when to act that way, and the battlefield was not one of them. Her skill in the lightsaber and the Force had also improved greatly in this long war. She had also physically matured ever since she entered this war. Her lekku were just reaching their full length and her montrals were nearly full grown. She had also learned how to use her montrals for echolocation and help detect her enemies even faster. She still preferred to wear her own outfits and not Jedi robes, as she said it allowed her to move faster and freely in battle, and that cloaks got in her way. She had grown into a fine Jedi Padawan and Obi-Wan predicted that soon she would be made a Jedi Knight. Rex and the other clone troopers would always talk about how they thought that the Council had assigned Ahsoka to Anakin just for her to learn what not to be like, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but somehow agree with them.

Right then, both Anakin and Ahsoka appeared on the bridge. Anakin was walking up with a smile on his and Ahsoka had a tired look on her face, apparently she too did not like the last stunt her master had performed. As they gathered around the communications station, a transmission began coming in. Obi-Wan pressed a button and holograms of Master Yoda, Master Windu, Master Kit Fisto, and Chancellor Palpatine appeared.

Master Windu was the first to speak. He spoke in a voice that was strong and calm, but had the slightest hint of anger hidden in it. He said, "We have read the mission report and we are again a little disappointed with you Skywalker."

"I completed the mission, what's the problem," Anakin replied in his calm and humorous voice.

"The problem is that you ended up taking a whole chunk of the moon with you and it is causing some problems for the natives of the planet it orbits," Windu replied in a voice that was starting to show more signs of anger.

"I mostly agree with you Master Windu, but in times of war, things happen that can never be predicted and if it helps to end the war sooner, even if it leaves more problems for a later date, then it had to be done," replied Master Fisto. He then began his well-known smile.

"Agree with Master Fisto I do," spoke Yoda.

Windu then sighed and the matter was ended. Then Palpatine spoke. He said in his calm voice, "Well, if that is settled, I believe it is time to brief you on your next mission. The Separatists are making a move on Hutt space and as you might have guessed, this is causing the Hutts to rethink their neutrality in this war. There is a meeting currently taking place in Jabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine, with all of the major Hutts attending. Rarely do so many Hutts gather together without wanting to take each other out for less competition. Senator Padmé Amidala is already in route to Tatooine to get the Hutts on our side and help end this war much quicker. You are to report to Tatooine to help protect the Senator and the Hutts till negotiations are complete."

"Understood Chancellor, we will do all in our power to help protect the negotiations," replied Obi-Wan.

"The Separatists may learn of plan. Be prepared for them. May the Force be with you," said Yoda.

"May the Force be with you," everyone answered. The holograms then turned off.

"How long till will reach Tatooine," Obi-Wan asked Captain Julian.

Captain Julian answered with, "It will about 4 days, 3 if we're lucky. The Senator will be there in about 2 days."

"Then let's head out," replied Obi-Won. Just then the bright light of hyperspace appeared and they were pushed forward hundreds of light-years in an instance.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the three Jedi Masters were preparing to leave, when Master Yoda suddenly stopped. Masters Windu and Fisto stopped and turned to the Grandmaster.

Kit was the first to ask, "What is wrong Master Yoda?"

Yoda replied in a confused tone. He said, "Don't know. Something new in the Force comes. Something strange. Be it good or bad cannot see. But, big changes are coming I feel."

Then all three Jedi Masters left for their own ways. But, all thinking of what Yoda had sense and trying to find out what it could mean, and all worrying what could cause such a change in the Force.

* * *

**Now people, I am going to only say this once. So pay attention. This was just a background chapter to tell everything that has happened over the last 47 years in the Milky Way. The next chapter will have more background and a bit of action.**

**Also, I will upload my finished chapters whenever I finish them and look over them. They may be short or long chapters, and may be uploaded in a day or two, or a week or more. It just matters how soon I can think of the chapter, get them done, review them, and edit the mistakes. Just enjoy and wait please.**

**The next chapter will be "Chapter 2 – The Arrival"**


	3. The Arrival

**___Chapter 2 – The Arrival_**

**Author's Notes:**

**Hey all you loyal readers out there, here is the next chapter in **_**"To Fight For Those Who Can't"**_

**Once again, I don't own any of the characters that are classics in both universes. I also find out some of this info from both "Halopedia" and "Wookieepedia", so some of the characters, history, and other things are true. I just put my own touch and ideas to them.**

**Also, this chapter will see a little action. But it will mostly be setting up more of the story. I will also be going over some of the UANS's current weapons. Remember people, the UANS has been around for nearly 47 years and have been making major upgrades to everything they have. So don't be surprised if wet your self from the new gear.**

**Also, I will sometimes use some of the species names used by the marines in the games and sometimes use their real names. I will also switch between the word of a number or the actual number form. It just depends.**

**Also, I don't really know how to do both Yoda's and Jar Jar's voices, but I will try my best.**

**This chapter has been updated.**

* * *

Above the planet Tatooine, our story begins once again.

Senator Padmé Amidala had just arrived in the system after 2 long days of traveling through hyperspace in her J-type star skiff. And she was in high spirits. She was excited. She would not had thought that there was nothing that would ever bring almost all of the major Hutt bosses together and make them decide to possibly join a war. Padmé knew that the war would definitely end very soon if the Hutts joined and the Republic gained access to all of their personnel, routes, and other secrets. And she knew that she could help lead them to join.

She had also contacted some friends before she had left Coruscant and asked if they would like to join. They had answered with a yes. So currently, her self excluded, were several others on her ship that she thought would help with this negotiations. They included her old friend Senator Bail Organa, Representative Jar Jar Binks, her friend Satine Kryze. She had brought her friend to help cheer her up. Ever since _Mandalore the Resurrector _arrived on Mandalore a year ago, taking control of the New Mandalorians, starting the Mandalorians Protectors, and joining the Separatists, the former Duchess had been living with Padmé on Coruscant. Padmé and Anakin had to tell her of their secret marriage and ask her to keep it a secret. Satine had agreed, as a thanks for all they were doing for her and had done. She was still deeply upset about the lost of her people and seeing them fighting a war again. Padmé hoped that the trip would help her spirits, which had been in a depression for over the last year. Also present was her personal bodyguard, Captain Gregar Typho, and her protocol droid, C-3PO, who had been a gift to her from Anakin.

She was so excited about the sudden turn of events in the war, that she felt slightly sick. Which had been strangly happening a lot lately, she still had no idea why. She decided to ignore the feeling and think about the mission. But, for some strange reason, she felt that the Hutts joining the war wasn't the thing that was going to be the biggest event today.

Just then the alarms on the ship went off. Padmé was surprised by this sudden alarm and tried to figure out what was wrong. Just then, Senator Organa, who was co-piloting the ship with her, looked at a display and said, "Unknown energy readings detected 9,000 meters away!"

"Shut down all systems, all except for life support," Padmé ordered, "let's see what's going on."

* * *

Place: On board the _UANS Avery Johnson_, three minutes before exit from slipspace.

Time: 1505 hours, November 22nd, 2600

The _UANS Avery Johnson_ was nearing its destination after 2 long days in slipspace. The crew was ready and willing for what ever was on the other side. All of the weapons, vehicles, and gear were prep. The crew knew that the planet was just one big desert and had come prepared. They had made sure to get portable power packets to power their equipment, which also included refrigerators and fans to help deal with the heat. But, that stuff was all for the crewmembers' personal time only. The portable bases where also ready for deployment for when they could get them safely to the ground.

Right at that moment, Team Epsilon was leaving the bridge, after being debriefed on their first assignment by Shipmaster Caldor. They were to immediately head down in a Hawk dropship and establish a base near the ruins' location, where the ship could be stationed and be able to deploy a firebase, that would allow them to safely keep an eye on the ruins. The _Avery Johnson _would be following them slowly and watching their backs, just in case of any surprises.

The team had just arrived in the hanger and headed towards their personal Hawk dropship. The H92D-DH, or as it was better known as the "Hawk", was the UANS's new dropship. It was a troop carrier and gunship all in one. It was a mix between the old Pelican dropships and the Phantom. It looked like the body of the Phantom, with the wings and tail of a Pelican joined to it, except they were slightly curvier, so that they looked right together. It was made of the same metal used by the Phantoms, but it was the new green color used by all UANS vehicles. It was equipped with multiple plasma rockets, which combined the explosive damage of both weapons. It was also equipped with two turrets, one in the front that fired superheated bullets, like the old Spiker guns used, which was controlled by the pilot. The other turret was a plasma turret that came out of the hatch in the back and could be used by any one in the cargo hold. It had also increased in size a bit to fit more troops, allowing for all twelve members of Eplison to fit in comfortably.

But Team Epsilon wasn't heading towards any ordinary Hawk. They were heading to their own personal Hawk, which was quite special. It was painted as black as any night could ever be. It was also equipped with a personal cloaking system that helped the team in stealth and espionage missions. The ship was also equipped with flares, in case of missile lock-on. The team had decided to call it something different, the "Hawk-Bat", for it was as fast as a hawk and as silent as a bat. Brutus was their pilot and had the problem of calling it his "Baby" whenever he could. He would not let any pilot even fly it for a centimeter, and had made sure everyone knew it belonged to him by painting a white skull on the front.

As they passed the rest of the crew, they noticed that all of the races on board were selecting their best weapons and equipment. Most of the designs for armor had not changed in shape and form, all except for the human armor. The common marine had now been given old ODST armor after newer armor took their place. But instead of scraping them, the UANS decided to continue making the armor for the common marine, so that they could fight much better on the battlefield and not take so much heavy causalities. They also had been given simple augmentations, which along with the new armor gave the humans' enhanced eyesight, hearing, speed, and strength. But the one thing that all the armor had in common was that they all had been painted a new desert sand color, just for this op.

As the team reached the "Hawk-Bat", Brutus immediately got in the pilot's seat and prepped it for launch. Max came up front to watch the show. Just then the ship's comm system came on. The navigation officer spoke, "Exiting slipspace in 3… 2… 1…" then the soft rumble of the ship leaving slipspace was heard.

"Team Epsilon, you are good for go," Shipmaster Clador's voice spoke from the "Hawk-Bat's" comm system. With that Brutus grabbed the steering controls and the "Hawk-Bat" left the hanger and enter deep space.

When the planet came into view, Brutus said, "Well, it looks like we get to work on our tans while we're here." That got the team to laugh at their number one pilot. Then Brutus pressed a button and a song began titled "_Another One Bites the Dust: By Queen_" and slowly, Team Epsilon descended into the unknown.

* * *

At that very moment, Padmé and all of the passengers of her skiff were in shock at what they beheld. As soon as the systems started shutting down, everyone onboard headed to the cockpit to see what was wrong. When they got there, Padmé told them everything she knew at the moment, which wasn't much. That got everyone to calm down, at least for a second. Then something happened that none of them expected.

A strange white disc appeared out of nowhere, right where the unknown energy reading was coming from. Then to everyone's shocked faces, a strange ship came through the "portal" and started making for Tatooine. Then a much smaller and faster ship left the ship and headed towards the planet. As they continued to watch, the bigger ship slowly entered the planet's atmosphere and stayed stationary.

Padmé was breathless; she had not seen this coming when she left on this mission. The ship was something to behold. If there was one word to say about it at first, it was beautiful. The ship was a color green that shined so bright from the two suns of Tatooine. The metal of the ship actually curved with the ship, making it look like a graceful fish in the sea. But behind this beauty, Padmé could see that it was a war machine in its own way. The sides were graceful all right, but down the middle, it looked more like the barrel of a blaster. It was both a sign of peace and danger to who ever went against it and Padmé was worried about what she had found. But before she could think of what to do, Jar Jar interrupted her thoughts.

"Whosa that Senator," Jar Jar asked.

"I don't know, but, I plan to find out," Padmé answered.

"Padmé, you can't be serious. Look at that thing, it was meant for war," said Senator Organa, "they might be Separatists and dangerous."

"I don't think so," Padmé answered, "besides, we may be dealing with a first contact with a new group and by the looks of it, they could help us in this war. I am sorry Senator Organa, but I must ask you to take my place in the negotiations while I check out these people."

"I will do it," Senator Organa replied.

"Jar Jar, I need you to stay and speak on my behalf. You might want to explain the situation to the Hutts so that they can understand my absence. C-3PO will stay behind with you to help with the translations. I feel they too would want to know of these guests. Also, contact the Chancellor, Jedi Council, and the ship that is coming to assist us about this new situation," Padmé spoke.

"I understand, Senator," Jar Jar replied.

"I will escort you Senator," Captain Typho said.

"I am going too," Satine spoke up. Everyone gave her a look. She then spoke again, "You have helped me in my time of need, I think this may be a way to repay you. Also, I still remember what I learned as the Duchess of Mandalore."

"Agreed," Padmé replied.

They then slowly started up the ship, so as not to draw the new ships attention and headed towards Jabba the Hutt's palace. Once there, Padmé, Satine, and Typho each grabbed a speeder and headed out towards the new arrivals.

* * *

Several minutes later, onboard the "_Spirit Adventurer_"…

"The Senator did what?" Ahsoka asked.

They had just received an emergency call from Tatooine. The entire ship was worried that the Separatist had begun to attack Tatooine and the Hutts. What they did not expect was what Jar Jar had to tell. He spoke of an unknown ship suddenly coming out of a portal and then landing on Tatooine. What had shocked her, the crew, her master, Obi-Wan, the rest of the Jedi Council, and Chancellor Palpatine was that he described it as both the most beautiful ship in existence and also truly the most deadly ship at the same time. Which made them even greatly shocked when Jar Jar told them Padmé, Satine, and Captain Typho had abandon the meeting with the Hutts, to go and meet these new arrivals.

"This has just complicated things," Obi-Wan replied, "How long till we arrive?"

The navigation officer spoke, "We still have at least a day to go, 10 hours if we push the engines to the max."

"I suggest you get there as soon as you can and find out all you can about this group," Chancellor Palpatine said.

"I agree," spoke Windu, "Till we learn more, we must presume that they are dangerous, with the ship that Representative Binks has described to us."

The holograms then disappeared and the crew hurried to their stations, so that the ship could make it Tatooine as soon as possible and be prepared if there was a battle.

While all of this was going on, Anakin was secretly worrying over his secret wife. He must not let anyone learn of the marriage. He had to keep his focus on the current situation and just pray that Padmé stayed out of trouble till then.

* * *

Now, back to Tatooine …

After Team Epsilon landed near the coordinates given to them, it only took them a while to find the ruin site.

Each member had brought his or her own gear for this mission. Max's weapons included: his two energy katanas on his chest, an energy knife, which was just an energy dagger in the form of a normal steel knife, on his right thigh, a Helic Rifle, which was a new improved Assault Rifle that fired metal bullets filled with plasma, in his hands, and an Folra Rifle, which was a new improved Battle Rifle that fired superheated bullets, which could prove deadly with head shots, on his back.

Caltore's weapons included: two energy daggers on his arms, two energy swords on his thighs, an energy garrote at his waist, and one Arc Rifle, which was an upgraded version of the Plasma Repeater which could now fire for longer periods of time without overheating and fired green plasma, in his hands. He also had several smoke grenades and an Enemy Jammer around his waist, in case of the need of a fast escape.

Alue's included: two green energy swords on her thighs, an energy stave, which had an energy blade on each end, one being a normal staff blade and the other being an double bladed scythe, a normal steel katana, both on her back, and an Arc Rifle in her hands. But, you could count Alue's whole body as a lethal weapon after all the training she went through on Sanghelios and Earth.

Brutus carried with him: two Gravity Mallets, which were much smaller than their ancient cousin, the Gravity Hammer, being about 1/5 it's size, but each twice as powerful, on his thighs, an Stinger Shotgun with grenade option attachment, which was the classic Shotgun upgraded to fire a blast of superheated metal in one shot and had a huge long blade on top, on his back, and his Blazer Machine Gun, which was a portable turret that fired superheated metal rounds into the enemy and had two long razor blades on the bottom of the barrel and one on the top, in his hands. The Blazer also had two small tanks attached underneath it that each held 500 rounds for the Blazer. Brutus also has two back up tanks on his back in case he runs out. Brutus was so strong, that the recoil from both the Stinger and Blazer did not cause him any trouble at all.

Diblo's weapons included: a Plasma Needler, which was an upgraded version of the classic Needler but with the added bonus of having the crystal needles covered in plasma when fired and tracking the enemy much faster, in his left hand and a Double Barrel Needle Pistol, which was a two barrel pistol that fired small, but lethal crystal needles that were effective when close, in his right. He also had his translator device on his left wrist.

Mok's gear included: his grandfather's Beam Rifle on his back, an energy gauntlet on his right wrist, his personal Plasma Magnum, which was a pistol that could fire very quick burst of green plasma and had a scope attached for headshots, in his left hand, and his Sentinel Rifle, an upgraded Beam Rifle that fired small, lethal shots of the same energy plasma that Sentinels used. He was wearing a custom armor that combined Elite and ODST armor. He wore a helmet that had no faceplate, but had the classic Jackal scope eye attached to it when he needed it.

Dax equipment was unique. It included: two point-defense gauntlets on his wrists, his hologram projection gear on his waist, a Needle Pistol on his left thigh, his Jackal Knife on his left arm, an Assault Needler, which was an old Assault Rifle he had custom made to fire Needler rounds, on his back, and a Magnos Beam, which was the upgraded Focus Rifle using Sentinel Beam and Covenant technology, in his hands. His robotic left arm also flipped into an energy cutlass. The arm was connected to Dax's nervous system, so all he had to do was think and it would flip, turn on, off, and flip back to hand form. His feathers on his head may have been in a rainbow of colors, but that didn't stop him from being able to hide. He had brought out a cloak and armor that matched the desert sand and could blend in without anyone noticing he was gone, right next to them, or if he had even left.

Fixer didn't, like most Huragok, like weapons or killing. But, that didn't mean he wasn't prepared to kill to protect himself and his team. He carried with him: two Needle Pistols and energy knifes on his armor. He also had a strong energy generator that boosted both his and his team's shields when he was close.

Lelek carried almost an armory of explosives on him. He had: two silenced Plasma Magnum in both his hands, a Plasma Rocket, which was a rocket launcher that fired rockets filled with green plasma, and a PlaFrag Launcher, which was an upgraded Plasma Launcher that fired PlaFrag grenades, which were a combination of plasma and frag grenades which struck like a plasma and spread like a frag, both on his back. Lelek may have been small, but he had been a soldier for much longer then most of them and trained for many years with demolition gear. He also had multiple grenades and C-4 charges around his waist.

Kalmar had his one-barrel assault cannon on his right arm and his brother, Jala, had his double barrel assault cannon on his left arm. Both had a shield on the other weaponless arm as well. They also had on both their backs a gravity board. A while back, the Mgalekgolo race saw humans riding skateboards and though of a good idea. The UANS immediately began work on creating boards that would use hover technology and be strong enough for the Mgalekgolo's to ride. The gravity boards were a success and helped allow Mgalekgolo soldiers to get onto the battlefield faster and made them nearly the hardest soldiers to hit in the entire UANS.

Jalo was the least armed, but he didn't need it. He was deadly with any weapon, even a simple side arm. He carried: two silenced Plasma Magnums on his gravity belt and two silenced Calpor SMGs, which was the classic SMG but upgraded to fire lock-on needle rounds. His gravity belt helped him to stand up straight on most worlds. While it was true, Casholu's gravity was lighter then most worlds, it was not as light as most had thought. The truth was that Casholu's gravity was only slightly lighter then Earth's gravity. The reason the Prophets and the San' Shyuum of the Covenant had to use gravity chairs and needed to bend over was simple. They had grown fat on their positions of power and over time, it had taken its toll on their lazy hides.

The team had only found the top of the ruins, due to all the sand covering it, but they had found it. As soon as they confirmed the location, Shipmaster Clador started sending down firebases, soldiers, weapons, and crew. After several hours, the base was finish and in a perfect position to watch over the ruins and defend them if they had to. They had yet to meet any native's, but they were still ready, just in case. It was nearing night and the two suns were beginning to descend when Max noticed something was off. He looked around, but didn't notice anything dangerous. He then looked back at the base and saw everything was still fine. He then looked back at his team and saw the problem. Team Epsilon was one member short.

Dax was gone.

* * *

Padmé and her small team had arrived at the site of the new arrivals several hours ago. To say she was shock was an understatement. She had come expecting a ship and crew of one race, but to her surprise, she had discovered the ship contained a mixture of 9 different races, including humans. But the others were completely new to her. Some were bird-like creatures, small creatures who had canine faces, floating squids, some sort of insectoid creatures flying around, huge reptiles with strange mandibles, huge mammals that looked stronger than even Wookiees, creatures who had huge foreheads and probably brains to match, and massive beings encased in blue armor, which were at least 12 ft tall and probably could take a tank on with easy.

Padmé immediately realized that there was no way that these creatures could have all evolved on the same world together and must have come from different worlds. Her next thoughts were over how strange their technology was, she could not even begin to imagine what it could do or how it was powered. She did realize that this group knew war and how to win it. She was worried what would happen if they became the Republic's enemy.

But what most fascinated her was where their base was. To one who wasn't looking for anything in this massive desert, they would have landed anywhere. But this group had chosen to land here for a specific reason alone. And she had discovered that reason.

Underneath the sand were ruins of some sort. From what she could see, it looked like they were made of some kind of metal. But, the metal was bright and looked new, though Padmé was sure that the ruins had to had been here since before Tatooine had been destroyed and became a desert world by the ancient Infinite Empire. Yet, this group had headed straight for these ruins as if they knew from the start they were here. This gave her hope that they were peaceful. But that nagging feeling wouldn't go away. If they weren't here to do harm, why come armed. What could be in those ruins worth so much to start a war?

Then a horrible thought came to her mind. Or was there something in those ruins that was so dangerous and needed to be destroyed, immediately? Something that was so dangerous, 9 races would come to this small world just to stop it. At this thought, Padmé knew she either had to make contact with the group or contact the Republic as soon as possible.

But, before she could make up her mind, Padmé felt a point at her back. She then froze. She knew that feeling. It was the point of a gun. Then Padmé heard a raspy, gruff voice in Basic. It said, "If you value you life, stand up slow and easy now. That goes for all of you."

The group of three slowly got up from where they were laying and scouting the group. They had not expected to be caught. They had come in quick and silent. They had slowed their pace on their speeders so as not to be detected. But, in the end, they had been caught by this mysterious group and had not notice they had been snuck up on before it was to late. Even Typho had not notice that they had company.

"Now, turn around nice and slowly so we can get a good look at our quests," the voice said.

The group did as was instructed and was shocked at what had found them. They had suspected it was a patrol from the ship, but it was in fact just one soldier. It looked to be of the bird-like race, but more built and had many feathers on his hair that were painted an assortment of colors. It was wearing a cloak and armor that actually matched with the color of the sand. But what was stranger was that its entire left arm was robotic and it had an x-cross shape scar over his right eye.

The creature pointed its strange blaster at them and said, "Now, let's go see my friends and find out who exactly you people are. I, for one, was not expecting to find humans here. How many humans did the Forerunners leave behind now I wonder?"

The creature then pointed with its robotic hand towards the base and they went. While they were walking, Padmé was thinking over what she had just heard the creature say. From what it had just said, it seemed it had not been expecting to find humans here. If it thought that, then the rest of the group probably had the same kind of mind. Also, she was trying to contemplate what it had meant by how many humans had the Forerunners left behind. Who were the Forerunners?

After she had finished asking herself these questions, there left only one question unanswered. She decided to get her answer then and there. She slightly turned her head to the right so that her right eye locked with the creature's eyes. Padmé asked the question, "Who are you people?"

The creature gave something of a smile. Then it looked straight into Padmé's eye and said, "Well miss, I'm Major Champion Dax of the Skirmisher subspecies, of the proud Kig-yar people, of the United Alliance of National Species army, and Team Epsilon's best tracker/hunter.

"How did you find us," Captain Typho asked, a little anger making it into his voice.

Dax gave a soft chuckle and then answered the question with, "I heard you about ten miles before you got here. All I had to do was get into a good hiding place, wait for you to show up, and then strike when you weren't paying attention."

Padmé was shocked. She could not believe any creature could have such fine hearing. Then Satine asked a new question.

"Team Epsilon? Who's that?"

Dax gave a slightly evil laugh and answered with, "Your worst nightmare if you mess with any of us!"

They then continue on in silence to the base. Padmé had become slightly scared at what he had said about his team and she could tell he wasn't bluffing. He meant every word when he had said it. Padmé was now sure that this whole situation had gone south big time. She just hoped she could fix this before it all went to hell.

* * *

At this moment, back on Coruscant, Yoda was mediating over the news he had heard several hours ago and trying to find out if there was a connection to it and what he had been feeling in the Force of late.

As Yoda mediated on the Force and these new developments, he sensed something. Something strong in the Force, yet completely different from anything that he had ever felt. So, Yoda opened his mind to the new mind and felt his mind travel light-years in an instant. He then saw Tatooine and he was heading towards it. He then went right through the desert and on for miles, until he suddenly stopped in some sort of humongous cave, for Yoda could not think of what else it could be. He then felt something in the cave, alive, but not like him, but still connected to the Force. He then heard the voice.

"The Reclaimers are finally here. Destiny is about to be reawakened at last and the Force will become what it once was. The creatures whose homes long ago were destroyed will meet the children of their saviors. Long live the Mantle," said the voice in a calm, peaceful manner.

Then Yoda saw the speaker and walked toward it. All the while knowing he was going to learn something new. The speaker did not look like any creature Yoda had ever met. It was just three balls of green light floating in mid air. The rest was shrouded in the shadows of the cave.

Yoda then spoke, "Who are you?"

"Greetings, young one," the speaker spoke with not the slightest hint of surprise, "I have waited long for this day. When the children would one day find their way to this world and everything would be made whole again. The ancient war is over, and the time for truths to be revealed is now. I have waited over 100,000 solar cycles for this day. I am..." But his voice was lost to the common ear. But Yoda heard it.

With that, Yoda awoke from his meditative state and was even more confused. Windu then walked in and saw the look on Yoda's face.

"What has happened," Windu asked.

"To Tatooine I must go. Someone there I must find," spoke Yoda, "Someone called… Offensive Bias."

To be continue…

* * *

**That's right people. Offensive Bias is at last revealed to the universe. If you don't know who he is, then look on Halopedia and be shocked and amazed. And he is not Mendicant Bias, but he is a real character in the Halo universe**

**Next time, I will be going over some features of the base and other vehicles. Also, the UANS forces finally meet the Republic. How will things turn out? Stay tuned and don't forget to review. Your reviews help me to fix my stories and improve them with each chapter.**

**Next time "Chapter 3 – The Meeting"**

"_**Long Live The Mantle!"**_


	4. The Meeting

**_Chapter 3 – The Meeting_**

**Author's Notes:**

**High again guys, here's the next chapter in this thrilling saga I call _"To Live For Those Who Can't"_**

**In this chapter, people finely meet each other. Also, some of the vehicles are described a little and we get a better detail of what the firebase looks like. And we get to see a little more action than last time. History will be revealed and friends and enemies are made. **

**Also, please don't forget to review on what you think and give me advice on improvements or mistakes I make.**

**Now, enjoy Chapter 3**

**Updated and ending changed a bit. Changed lowered number of CIS ships, seemed too much.**

* * *

Place: UANS base camp on unknown planet, being classified as SDI-67.

Time: 1905 hours, November 22nd, 2600

Max was worried. He could not find Dax anywhere in the camp they had set up. The two suns of SDI-67, or as everyone was calling it, "Sierra", were beginning to set and none of them knew if there were any nocturnal predators on this world. Max wasn't really worried about Dax. He knew that he could handle anything he met. What worried him was how he suddenly disappeared without a warning. Dax was known to go exploring worlds by himself, but he usually told someone if he was just going to explore. Max had known Dax for a while and he had grown to know the Skirmisher's behavior and reactions. Dax did go exploring and he usually returned with something as a souvenir. Everyone called him the black box of worlds, for some said he found all sorts of plants and creatures on all the worlds he came to, that even UANS had no knowledge about. And Max had gotten the same sense from Dax to, when one day, Dax came back to the ship after exploring a bit and he had a claw the size of a bowling ball. The UANS and OAI had been trying to get Dax to tell them everything he knew, but he would always tell them the same thing, "I don't know what you are talking about."

But Dax going out without telling anyone was usually a bad sign. Dax had the best eyeshot and hearing then any other Kig-yar in the history of his species. He had also earned the title of the Elite Jackal, among the Sangheili, due to him being able to blend in with any environment, without the need for active camouflage. Just a cloak and armor color, and he was just as invisible as any true SpecOps member.

Dax only acted on his own and without telling his commanding officer when he sensed something that no one else did. Max was never mad at what Dax did; it had usually ended up saving many lives. What he did not like was that there was potentially a dangerous threat on this world to him, his team, and everyone else. Just as he was thinking of this, his comm beeped. He activated it and asked who it was. It was Dax.

"Max," the Kig-yar Skirmisher spoke in his raspy, gruff voice, "I am 15 minutes south of camp. I have three prisoners with me. They were spying on our camp."

"Roger Dax, thanks for taking care of it," Max replied.

"Max, there's something else," the Skirmisher spoke, a little confusion showing in his voice, "The three are all humans, at least their outer appearance is.

This sent a chill down Max's spine. He said, "Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent sure Max, Dax out," Dax answered and then shut off his comm.

This was one thing Max had not expected when they set out on this mission. Max immediately knew this had something to do with the Forerunners. He then opened up his comm to the _Avery Johnson_ and Shipmaster Clador.

"What is it Captain Max," asked Clador.

"Sir, Major Dax has caught three prisoners who were spying on us. They are 15 minutes away from here to the south," Max replied. He then said something he knew was going to get Clador's attention. "Sir, Dax has stated the prisoners as human."

"I see," Clador voice spoke in his usually calm voice, with just the slightest hint of confusion detected, "I'll meet you down there. When they arrive, you and your team please escort them to the gravity lift."

Max then said, "Yes sir!"

After that, the connection to the ship was disconnected. Max then activated his other team members' comms and spoke, "Lightning, Blade, Heracles, Fly, Bang, Fixer, Boom, Singer, Writer, Redeem, this is Sparta. Tracker is inbound with three human prisons that were spying on us. We are to meet at the south side of the camp and meet up with them. Then we are to escort them to the center of camp so they can speak to the Shipmaster. Move out Epsilon!"

"Yes sir," everyone shouted into his or her comms.

This mission had just risen to a new level and now was not the time for fun and games. He and his team only used their code names if the mission was of top importance and needed to be carried out with the same level of seriousness. He wanted to show these new guests of theirs what his team could do.

* * *

At this same time, 15 minutes to camp.

The soldier who had called himself Major Dax had just spoken into his communication device and informed his commanding officer of what had occurred. Padmé was now taking small breaths, trying to keep calm. There was no point in worrying and becoming exhausted before she even got to the camp. Padmé looked at both Captain Typho and Satine and was calmed more when she saw that they too were not over worrying themselves.

Padmé was glad that the soldier had finally lowered his weapon and did not have it pointed at her back anymore. She had decided that this group did not mean anyone harm, or else the creature would still have it pointed into her back, or worse. They had probably come armed just in case they ran into any problems.

While they were walking towards the camp, Padmé began to wonder and ask herself questions. Who was this group? Who was the United Alliance of National Species? Where had they come from? Why had no one ever meet or recorded any of them before? And why were they so focused on these ruins? What exactly were they and what did they hold?

As they approached the camp, they got a good look at the camp. The buildings had actually been dropped down from the ship and landed without any trouble, probably due to the jets underneath each. The buildings looked like they were made of the same material as the ship and had the same color. Padmé couldn't tell from where they were the differences between each. She did see multiple soldiers and vehicles running from place to place, but she was still too far away to see what they looked like either. What she could see was a trench, multiple foxholes, sniper towers, and some sort of turret towers. Each was the made of the same material and color as everything else, but there were at least three different types.

One kind of looked like a big blaster with some sort of tank on the back, she guessed it was meant to deal with infantry, but she couldn't be for sure yet. She had no idea what the tank was for, but she guessed she would find out sooner or later. Another kind had an even bigger blaster then it's counter part and guessed it dealt with heavy armor. Then there was one with some sort of long rectangles with multiple tubes in them. She took them as air defense and pretty powerful. She was shocked that so many defenses could be constructed and set up so quickly. This group had definitely seen war and took little chances with anything.

As the neared the trench, a group was waiting for them. Padmé could see that it was a squad of 11, with a least one member of each race. Two of them were the strange reptiles with the strange mandibles, one in very dark armor and the other in a green/gold armor with some sort of symbols on it, the runes armor one had some sort of sword and a staff on its back, and both had some sort of huge firearm that was green and was slightly glowing from where she assumed it fired from. Another member was one of the large mammals and it had white armor with black skulls on its shoulder guards, it also carried a firearm with a blade on top and some sort of launcher on the bottom. There was also another of the bird-like creatures, like Dax, but it was not as built and did not have as much feathers on his head. He was wearing a dark brown armor that looked something between what the reptiles wore and the humans did. It also had some sort of long blaster that definitely was meant for long range. There was one of the small canine face creatures, which wore a fire orange armor with black smudges all over it and had huge weapons strapped to the back of the tank on it's back. Padmé had notice the tank on all of its kind and guessed that its kind did not breath oxygen, and their air was in the tank. She also noticed one of strange floating squids, it had nothing in its tentacles, but there were things that looked like weapons on its armor. It looked harmless, but appearances could be deceiving. It kept looking at her for some reason and was starting to give her the creeps. There was also one of the insectoid creatures with a double barrel blaster pistol of some kind in purple armor and a device on its left wrist. There was also one of the bigheaded aliens with some sort of modified blasters of some kind in gray armor. There were also two of the massive 12 ft beasts. One had a blue armor with green stripes on it and one huge blaster for its right arm and a huge shield for the other. The other had green armor with blue stripes, a double barrel blaster for its left arm and a huge shield for the other. They both had some sort of board device, whose purpose she still did not know, on their backs.

But what stood out the most was the being standing at the head of the group. It was in cased in a red armor with a strange helmet with ridges on it and a golden visor covering its face. Padmé could not tell what kind of creature it was, but it was definitely humanoid. At first, she thought it was just a plain human, but drop the thought when they got nearer. The creature was at least 7ft tall. It also had some sort of blaster in its hands and another on it's back. There also appeared to be two rods on its chest, which kind of reminded Padmé of lightsabers, but looked more complexly designed. She also noticed the two reptiles had rods of similar design on them as well. Padmé immediately saw this group as Special Forces of some kind. Her theory was proven correct a minute later when they stopped just at the face of the group.

Dax then spoke to the humanoid in red armor. He said, "Captain Max, here are our new guests I told you about."

The red figure then turned to them with its golden visor covering its face and kind of making Padmé and her friends nervous. The red figure noticed and moved its hands towards its helmet. Then with a twist and a hiss, the figure pulled its helmet off and surprised their new guests even more.

Beneath the helmet and armor was a normal human. He had jet-black hair, with swatches of blond mixed in. The face was rugged and some may had called it handsome. The face showed a true soldier who had trained to be a soldier since he was young and had gone through many hardships to get where he was now. His eyes were a light green color. He also had a serious look on his face at the time. But the face showed something else, youth. Padmé could not imagine how a human like him had been born into existence.

Then the voice spoke in a gruff, yet emotionless voice. He said, "Greetings, I am Captain Spartan Maximilian-251 Washington, but you can call me Max. Everyone does. Now, please follow us. Move out Epsilon."

"Yes sir!"

Team Epsilon then walked ahead of the group, with no one behind their guests' backs. Padmé saw this as a test to see what they would do. She turned to Typho and Satine and nodded. They began to follow them.

As they walked through the camp, they earned a few glances from some of the personnel, who just as quickly continued on with what they were doing before. Padmé also noticed several different vehicles. Most of them were some sort of car that could switch between a wheel mode and a hover mode. Also, they had multiple types. Some were a carrier form, and some had huge weapons of different kinds. There were also tank like vehicles that had two long barrels and some sort of turret on it for a gunner. There were also some sort of smaller vehicles that Padmé could not even describe. They approached some sort of airfield and saw aircraft like the one they saw earlier leave the ship in space and other smaller ones and even larger ones with an assortment of guns on it.

They then passed by more buildings. Most of them were barracks where the soldiers rested when not on duty. They also passed by an armory and a storage warehouse, where they saw a magnitude of unbelievable weapons and gadgets. They also passed by a tower with a huge dish at the top, a command station of some kind. Throughout the trip, the three representatives of the Republic saw things they could not even describe or imagine could even exist at all.

Then they came to the center of the camp. There, a huge purple beam rose up and up till it reached the ship that was stationed above. They had watch as it had transported men and equipment to the base for several hours.

As the small group waited the next few minutes, nothing happened. Then Captain Max looked up and everyone else did. They watched as one of the reptile aliens descended the beam and approached them. Padmé knew that this alien must be the captain of this vessel. He wore an armor that was bright gold and had multiple medals on it. He was highly decorated and Padmé knew he had earned his position.

As the creature approached, he looked at Captain Max and his squad. He spoke in a calm, yet powerful voice, "Good work Spartan. You and your team bring great honor to me, this ship, and the entire UANS."

"Just another day at the job, sir," Captain Max replied in a cool level tone.

The creature then looked at Padmé and her group. It slowly approached them. Padmé walked to the front, as she was the "commanding" officer of her group. The creature stopped in front of her and extended its four-fingered hand. It then spoke.

"Greetings, I am Shipmaster Clador 'Taluo of the _UANS Avery Johnson_."

Padmé decided to be the first to speak for the entire Republic to this group. She said in a respectful tone and shook Clador's hand, "Greetings, I am Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. Next to me are my bodyguard Captain Typho and my friend Satine Kryze. We were on our way to this planet for an important meeting, when you ship appeared. None of us had ever seen a ship like yours before, so we decided to investigate while others attended the meeting."

"I see," Clador replied, "We are sorry we interrupted your assignment. We came not wanting to cause any problems for any species we met. I am sorry to say that we were definitely not expecting to find other humans here."

"Why is that?" Captain Typho asked.

"Well, where we come from, the humans are all descended from a group of humans from one world, and this planet is too far out of reach of their last colony," Clador answered.

"I see," Padmé said, "Well I think we need to first know a little about each other before we can truly understand each other."

"Agreed," Clador replied, "I think if we discussed everything in a somewhat private place, it will help the exchange go by much better."

"Agreed," Padmé replied.

"Captain Max," Clador looked at the leader of Team Epsilon, "You and your team will also be listening in on this meeting."

"Yes sir!"

The group then walked into the building with the huge dish on top. As the group entered, they both knew that big changes were in store for all of them. They just didn't know they would both eventual learn something that the other didn't either.

* * *

Several hours later, one of the suns had just started to rise. Then a ship came out of hyperspace above Tatooine. It was the _Spirit Adventurer_.

Obi-Wan was at the bridge. He was trying to plan what might be needed before he set out for the surface. He had prepared the main forces who were to head to the surface in case of a Separatist attack or an attack by the new guests. He had requested an assortment of AT-TEs, Turbo Tanks, LAATs, BARC speeders, AT-RTs, and clone troopers to be deployed around Jabba's palace in case of an attack.

As Obi-Wan looked out upon Tatooine, he noticed the unknown ship. He was in awe of it, as well as everyone else on the bridge. The report about it was right. It was a wonder to behold. It was a beauty unmatched by any ship, yet, at the same time, it showed it was not a push over. Its sides were smooth and graceful, like it was a creature born for space. And to make it seem like a terror in a space fight, the center was like a barrel of a rifle. It was one of the few things in life that Obi-Wan wanted to truly know how it had been made.

"Wow," came a voice from behind Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan looked behind and saw that both Anakin and Ahsoka had come to the bridge. Ahsoka was the one who had spoken. Her eyes were locked on the unknown ship. She was just as fascinated with it as he was.

"Now, that's a ship I wouldn't mind flying someday," exclaimed Anakin. He had a smile on his face that revealed he was up to something.

"Don't even think about Skyguy, we need to first find Padmé and figure out if these guys are friendly or not," Ahsoka said after seeing her master's look at the ship.

"Agreed," Obi-Wan said, "so first lets…"

But, before he could finish, the communication board started going off and interrupted him. They were receiving a message from Tatooine. It was coming from the unknown ship. As they all wondered if they should answer, Obi-Wan made the decision for everyone. He went to the board and pushed a button. A hologram slowly appeared. It was of a strange creature. It was definitely saurian in nature, but it had hands with two middle fingers and two opposing thumbs. It also had a strange jaw, with a bottom and upper jaw that split into 4 jaws covered in razor rows of canine teeth. It had two nostrils, with each one just below and in front of the eyes at the side of its head. And its legs were digitigrade, with the top half pushing forwards, the bottom pushing backwards, and the feet had two toes, that were hooved. It also had on some strange armor. It was covered in medals of all kinds, Obi-Wan took him as someone who had earned a reputation and he did not exploit it to his advantage.

Then the creature spoke in a strong, calm voice. He asked, "Attention, is the one known as General Obi-Wan Kenobi on board your ship?"

At first, everyone was shocked that it spoke Basic. Then that was replaced with the shock of it knowing Obi-Wan's name. Obi-Wan had but one choice. He answered with, "Yes, I am General Obi-Wan. How did you know I was coming?"

"Greetings Obi-Wan. My name is Clador 'Taluo. I am the Shipmaster of the _UANS Avery Johnson_. I was told several hours ago by your ambassadors that we met that you would be arriving with your ship. I have been awaiting your arrival since. I would like to invite you to the camp stationed below this ship. I assure you, your people are safe and unharmed. We made sure to treat them as best we could, since they are diplomats to your Republic. I think it would be best to meet in person, planet side. Also, so that you can make sure your people are unharmed, of course. We will discuss all matters together so that we do not cause any problems. I will info my men to let you land. Head to the airfield, where all the other aircraft are, you'll recognize them as such. See you there, General. Oh, and don't be surprised by my men, they all aren't like me. Long live the Mantle," Clador said. He then put his fist to his chest and then the hologram went off.

"Well, that was interesting," Anakin said.

"Indeed," Obi-Wan replied. He was in deep thought on what this could mean.

"Excuse me Master," Ahsoka asked, "What do you think Clador meant by don't be surprised by his men? And what is the Mantle?"

Obi-Wan looked at the Padawan. He replied with, "I guess we'll know when we get there."

"I'll tell Rex to get some men and a LAAT ready for go," Anakin said.

"Good idea," Obi-Wan said, "This might be a trap and it would be best to be prepared."

While everyone was getting everything set, Ahsoka just stood there at the bridge. She continued to look down at the beautiful ship. Her eyes then wondered down to the camp beneath it. For some strange reason, for just a moment, she felt something. Several actually. There was something down there calling to her through the Force, but what. And why hadn't Obi-Wan or Anakin felt it. Did she just imagine it? She just didn't know. And that worried her.

* * *

Clador had just shut off his connection to the _Spirit Adventurer_. Senator Padmé had briefed him on this galaxy. She had explained in short the Republic, the Separatists, the Jedi, the Force, and other things, along with the name of this planet, Tatooine. As soon as she had, he had told her and her companions a little about them. About the humans of their galaxy, the Covenant, the Human-Covenant war, the Great Schism, the War with the Loyalists, the Arrival of the Stoics, and the UANS and OAI. He had also explained about the Spartans, most notably Master Chief, or as others so called him just the "Spartan" or the "Protector of Life".

He had also explained a little of the Forerunners. He told them of their war with the Flood, of their great sacrifice, and how now they followed in their paths with their children, the Reclaimers or simply humanity. He did leave out how they had done it. He didn't want a new enemy finding out about the Halos and using them as weapons. And he had a feeling there were a lot of people like that in this galaxy that would use them in that way.

As soon as the basic information was exchanged, he invited Padmé and her companions to stay aboard the _Avery Johnson_ to spend the night and rest. They had accepted. As soon as they were in their room, Clador had headed to the bridge. When he got there, he instantly contacted UANS command and informed them of what had happened. They had told him to continue to form an alliance with the Republic. When he told them that the Senator was expecting an attack from this "CIS" they had ordered him to help defend the Senator and the planet from these "droid" war machines, with the help of the Republic ship coming. Clador had agreed.

Command had also informed Clador the back up fleet was at least half a day away from the planet. Command had also informed him a special guest was coming with it. Clador was definitely surprised by whom they told was coming. The _UANS Leviathan_, the second biggest ship in the entire UANS navy. It also had a full detachment of Spartan IVs with it, at least 50. They had sent it, just in case any problems happened and they needed stronger defenses. Command had also given him a code to tell Max, Alue, and Jalo the next time he saw them.

After that, Clador had spent the rest of the time waiting for the Republic ship to show. But, he had also been thinking over other things. Most concerning this galaxy's past, with so many troubles happening everywhere and everything being taken care of by the Republic or these Jedi. He didn't really understand them yet, maybe when he meant this Jedi General, he would. They seemed to be telepathic by the description he had been given, but he had to see it for himself. They also seemed to be great swordsmen and used some kind of energy sword. He knew that many Sangheili would want to test their sword skills with them. That also included Max, Caltore, and Alue.

Clador was also wondering on something that had been bothering him. At the meeting, when Padmé started mentioning the Jedi and the "Force" they somehow had control over, Max was listening on every word. While the other members of his team were amazed at the description and asking the group questions, he had been silent the whole time. He had not even blinked. He just kept listening and looking serious. Alue's mind also seemed to be somewhere else. She was listening, but, at the same time, she was focused on cleaning her katana the whole conversation. Also, Jalo had begun to tap his fingers on his Calpor SMG, and not asking any questions. For a San 'Shyuum to not ask questions about something that was so totally unscientifically impossible, he was being too quiet. San 'Shyuum were the biggest science dudes in the galaxy and they always wanted to know facts. But, Jalo was really being unusual for himself.

If Clador had to guess, this had something to do with OAI. The former OAI spook knew many secrets and knew how to keep them that way. He knew something, something that he was not to reveal to anyone. The same went with Max and Alue. Being a Spartan, Max had been trained and created by OAI. He had gone on so many top-secret missions before joining his team. He also knew as much secrets as Jalo did. Alue had probably learned many things from her father's job as the Kaidon of the State of Vadam, the Arbiter, a Councilor on the Sangheili High Council, and a member of the UANS senate. He knew many things and had probably allowed her in on some of these secrets. All three of them knew the same something, and Clador knew that somehow one of those secrets had just somehow become involved in this mission by the appearance of these Jedi. What it was, Clador did not know. Yet. He was going to find out. If it somehow could put his team and his ship and crew in danger, he needed to know.

As Clador walked to the gravity lift he activated his comm. He had given Padmé and her companions a comm device so that he could contact them easily. He contacted them, along with Epsilon.

"Padmé, Max. Obi-Wan's ship just appeared and he is coming down. I am going down to meet him. Padmé, I believe he will calm down better seeing you and your friends safe and sound. Max, I want you and your team down by the airfield by the time I arrive. We might need you to stop some fighting. I feel some of the Sangheili will sense these Jedi of yours Senator and wish to test their skills against them. Is that understood soldiers. No fighting them, yet. In your free time only, got that!"

"Sir, yes sir!" was Epsilon's response.

"Yes Shipmaster," came the calm, cool voice of the Senator.

"Good," Clador said, "I will meet you and your companions at the gravity lift. I assume you remember the way there."

"Yes," Padmé answered.

"Good, meet you there," Clador said. Then he turned off his comm. Clador now had other things to worry about.

Right as Clador approached the lift, he remembered something. When Max, Alue, and Jalo had joined his crew, he had read their files. Most of them were blacked out in ink, but there was somethings that weren't. One was that they had all been part of a top secret program right before joining his crew. He had heard the name of the program before, but that was all. That was all anyone knew about the program other than the UANS senate and the OAI higher ups. Clador was just thinking that it was weird how all three of them were a part of the same program and that all three knew the same thing. Could this top secret program have an involvement with these Jedi somehow. The strangest thing was that the program's name gave no hint to what it was. It was not a coded name or any other name. Just one letter. It was called . . . Project: R.

* * *

Padmé, Satine, and Typho slowly made their way to the gravity lift. They had not had much time to look around, but what they had seen was impressive. The corridors of the ship actually curved with the ship, just like the outside. This UANS was indeed impressive. The engines that they had been told about actually somehow tore a hole through space and time, created a wormhole, allowing them to travel thousands of light-years in an instant, and then seal the hole after entering and exiting. It also allowed them to travel right through gravity wells without having to stop and move around them. To Padmé, it seemed dangerous to actually tear a hole through reality. But Clador said that it was perfectly safe, now with new advancements, and he did say that the Forerunners were using even more powerful engines to do the same thing over 100,000 years ago.

That was another thing. Padmé had become fascinated with these Forerunners. They had stood alone in their galaxy against this seemingly unstoppable enemy, only referred to as the "Flood". She did not get a full detail of what this "Flood" was, but apparently it was a creature that no one should ever meet, or to those who had, it was their greatest nightmare. The Forerunners had given their lives so that others might one day go on after they, themselves, were gone. She could see how these aliens had once worship them as gods for this. She was also not expecting what they had to say about their humans. According to Clador, the humans of his galaxy were the living, breathing descendents of the Forerunners, the Reclaimers, and therefore their rightful heirs.

So, when it came time for the Human-Covenant war, she felt she had nearly died from a heart attack. She could not imagine anything so horrible in all her life. Thousands of worlds destroyed in a matter of hours. Billions of lives lost all at once. Genocide against humanity and no one spared. Just the thought of it was horrible. She could not believe what these Prophets known as Truth, Mercy, and Regret had ordered their people to do, the lies they told, just so they could rule without fear from anyone. She could not imagine how the Jedi could have not felt so much life go out. Padmé thought maybe it had something to do with them being over a galaxy away from theirs.

She had then learned of the Great Schism and knew that these Prophets rule was at an end when they turned against their own. Padmé felt Clador was hiding something about the war and the Great Schism, but she didn't mind. She would probably do the same thing if she knew secrets that had to be kept secret for the greater good. She saw these Sangheili as what they were, a key to help end the Human-Covenant war. They fought with honor like a Jedi. They were trained since they were young to fight and use a blade, which was called an energy sword and was like a double bladed lightsaber.

But what really got her and her companions was the tale of the Spartans. How they had been humanity's hope throughout the war. How they had done the impossible and had given their lives for it. But, she had become sicken when they had revealed to her their origins. She had eventually calmed down when they told her everyone still alive and involved had been arrested for the crimes. But that didn't make the Spartans any less great to her eyes. They were like the Jedi of their galaxy. Trained since they were children to fight and survive. To defend their worlds, so that others could live on after them and peace could come at last.

But she had become truly fascinated with one of these Spartans, Master Chief Spartan-117. According to everyone, if it hadn't been for him, many more people would had died in losing fights for worlds, the Great Schism would never had happened, Earth would had been lost, and for some reason, everyone believed that none of them would be alive right now. She could not imagine how they all could have felt that way about one individual. He was simply called "Chief" amongst humanity, but others called him the "Spartan" or just the "Protector of Life". She felt that the name was rightfully placed.

He had apparently died in the last battle of the Human-Covenant war, when he had given his life to kill something called the "Gravemind", the apparent leader of the "Flood" and ending the threat forever. She couldn't help but wonder, if he hadn't stopped it, could it and its "Flood" had made it all the way to this galaxy. Could the Republic stand as long and win against such a destructive foe. She couldn't tell.

She now knew why this UANS's ships were prepared for war. They had fought for so long against so much, they came prepared with everything they had. She also understood why they were here on Tatooine. The ruins on Tatooine were Forerunner ruins. They had discovered the location of these ruins and this planet from another ruin they had found. They came armed because this was the first time anyone had left their galaxy to go exploring in another. They did not know what to expect. They were also prepared in case any "Flood" was in the ruins. They did not expect any here, but it never hurt to come prepared. Clador had insisted that the "Flood" had only been found in two ruins so far, with each being quite different from the others. He would not explain what was so different about these certain ruins; just that anyone who found them would immediately know the danger in them.

She had also seen that the three-year war that the Republic was in right now was child's play compared to what the "Milky Way", the name of the galaxy she had learned that they called home, had seen in its entire lifetime. She wondered how the Senate would react to the news and even the Jedi. She knew they too would become both confused and divested by the news of so many deaths, and they had not even felt it.

But right now, she had to make sure that the Republic did not accidentally go to war with the UANS. She felt that if a war did beak out with them, they would not win. These guys knew war better then anyone and knew how to win it.

As Padmé, Satine, and Typho approached the gravity lift, they saw Shipmaster Clador waiting for them with a deep thinking look. Padmé was thinking over what could be making the Shipmaster thinking so hard. She decided to ask at another time, when there was nothing else to worry about. He spoke in his usual calm, powerful voice.

"So, should we go greet our guests?"

* * *

At this same time, Max was telling his team through his comm to meet at the airfield. They answered with a yes. After that, Max shut off his comm. He was thinking over what Padmé and her companions had told them. He was mostly thinking of what she had said about the Jedi and the "Force". Then he heard a voice from behind him.

"Thinking hard about these Jedi and this "Force"?"

Max looked behind him. It was Alue and Jalo. Max, Alue, and Jalo had know each other before either had been assigned to Team Epsilon. They had gone on top-secret missions for OAI together. They had also seen stuff that OAI did not reveal to the people yet. The UANS of course knew of all of these and decided to keep them secret as well. Better the people not freak out from hearing about them.

"Yeah"

"Max," Jalo spoke, "we have to make sure that no one knows. We must not allow our gifts to be revealed to the galaxies, especially this one. We must use them only when we have been given the authorization code. Which only someone high up can know."

"I know Jalo," Max replied, "it's just… this may finally answer so many questions I've been wondering about my entire life." As he said that, he grabbed the small bundle at his waist and just looked at it.

"We know Max," Alue said, "just wait. We'll all find out together. Just be patient and stay focused on the mission."

"When don't I?" Max replied. He placed the wrapped bundle back at his waist. Then he grabbed his helmet and silently place it back on his head and walked towards the airfield, to the rest of his team, Shipmaster Clador, Padmé and her companions, and the soon to be arriving new arrivals. This mission had just gone up some levels.

* * *

Several minutes later, the LAAT landed in the camp's airfield. Out came several humans dressed in a white armor. Also there was an older looking man with a beard in brown robes, another man dressed in the same way and with a scar around his right eye, a small cyclinder shaped robot with three legs, and a strange orange alien with some sort of white and blue tentacles coming out of its head and running down to its waist and horns growing at the top of its hair/tentacles.

As they exited the ship, all the passengers were all in shocked. Apparently, the news of their arrival had spread and the whole camp had showed up to see them. They were equally shocked at who the camp was made of. While some were of the same race as the Shipmaster, the others weren't. There were also humans, bird-like creatures, small creatures with tanks on their backs and masks covering their mouths, flying insectoids, floating squids, huge mammals that could probably take a Wookiee on in close combat and maybe win, creatures with long necks and huge heads, and 12ft behemoths incased in blue armor. They were all looking at the small group with interest. Many of the saurians were carrying a rod on their thighs that looked a lot like lightsaber rods. They had also notice three of the group carried a rod also and were looking at them like they waiting for the right moment to challenge them.

"Well, I guess now we know what he meant by not all his men were like him," Anakin said.

"Indeed," Obi-Wan replied, "A crew made up of multiple races is a strange sight these days. I wonder how they all met."

While her master and Obi-Wan talked, Ahsoka was looking around. She could feel that strange presence again, and it was getting closer. She couldn't figure out why her master and Obi-Wan couldn't sense it. She thought maybe it had something to do with her actually trying to focus in on it.

Then a small gap was made in the group surrounding them. Soon, a group was seen heading towards them. The clones, droid, and the Jedi soon saw the party heading towards them better. The one in the lead was the Shipmaster Clador in a gold armor and medals covering most of it. Right to his left was Padmé, Satine, and Captain Typho. But to there right was another group. There was at least one of every race in the group and they all looked tough, even the small creature with a tank on it back and the floating squid right beside it. They were definitely a Special Forces team of some kind.

As they neared, Ahsoka looked at the strange human, if it was even that, in the red armor and strange-ridged helmet. Ahsoka immediately found what she had been sensing. The creature in the armor was the presence she had been feeling before. Ahsoka then leaned into her master to whisper something.

"Master?"

"What is it Snips?" Anakin asked.

"Don't you feel it? The being in red armor, I think he may be, you know." She said and nodded towards the soldier in question.

Both Anakin and Obi-Wan saw the look in Ahsoka's eyes and decided to find out what she was talking about. As soon as they focused on the soldier, they too felt the same thing that Ahsoka had felt. They could not believe that they had not felt such a presence when they arrived at the base. They were also equally shocked that Ahsoka had been the first to noticed it. It just proved how much she had improved over the last 3 years. As Obi-Wan continue to observe the soldier, his eyes wondered over the rest of the squad. The tall saurian with a steel sword and staff on its back and the big headed alien also had a presense, just not as strong as the red soldier.

As the group got nearer, the red soldier stopped. He turned to the masses that surrounded the airfield. He then spoke in an emotionless tone to them.

"Alright soldiers, that's enough standing around and staring. Time to get back to work."

"Yes Spartan sir!" Everyone shouted and then left to go back to their duties.

Obi-Wan looked at this with thinking eyes. The soldiers instantly acted to this single soldier's orders, he commanded their respect just like the Shipmaster did. He was either very high up or a very good soldier. Or both. Whoever he was, he had just earned even greater interest from him.

Then the Shipmaster approached and extended his hand. He spoke in his powerful, yet calm voice.

"Greeting General Kenobi, it is a great pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"It is also a pleasure to meet you as well," Obi-Wan said and grasped the hand offered.

"It is good to see you again General Kenobi, and you too, Anakin and Ahsoka," Padmé spoke up from behind.

"It is good to see that you are indeed unharmed Senator," Ahsoka said.

Shipmaster Clador then spoke, "Good, now I think it is time that we…"

But before he could finish, his comm device went off. He placed his hand to the device, which was at the side of his head, where his ear must have been.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Shipmaster, 6 ships just appeared in system and are on their way here."

"What!" Clador nearly shouted.

Then, Obi-Wan's communication device went off. He answered. Captain Julian's voice came through and everyone heard what he had to say.

"General, 6 CIS ships just exited hyperspace and are approaching."

With that both Obi-Wan and Clador acted.

"We won't be able to stop them from deploying forces. Captain Julian, I need you to start deploying everything I requested to get set before I left faster. We'll need them."

"Yes General," and with that, Captain Julian shut off the communication.

"Captain Max, I need you and your team to escort the Senator and the Jedi to Jabba's palace, these Hutts may need your protection. I will leave Fieldmaster Kado in charge of our land forces to help fight off these droids. I will be commanding the _Avery Johnson_ in the fight in space. Is that understood soldiers."

"Yes sir." Max and his team saluted.

Shipmaster Clador then spoke into his comm again and addressed the whole camp.

"Attention soldiers. We are about to be attacked by an army that uses machines in their fights. I need all space fighter pilots back on the ship in 3 minutes. While I am gone, Fieldmaster Kado will be in charge of the land forces. Listen to him carefully and I hope to see you again when I come back."

At this, soldiers all over the camp started to head to their stations. Some went back to the ship. While the rest went and grabbed their armor, weapons, and other gear, and went to their stations or jumped into a vehicle. If they were going to die, they were sure as hell going to deal hell to these droids and show them that they messed with the wrong people.

"Also," Clador spoke again, "The fleet that we are expecting to arrive will be arriving soon. So all we need to do is hold our own till they get here. These enemy ships are only slightly larger then our ship, they don't stand a chance against a fleet of ours. Also, the fleet is being lead by the _UANS Leviathan_."

With that said, the UANS forces cheered. They knew they would beat the snot out of these CIS bastards with the _Leviathan _on their side. This fight would end as soon as it arrived.

"Now soldiers, let us once again enter another hell to bring peace. Let us show these CIS bastards who they are dealing with. Should we die, let us be remembered for what we did. The first in our galaxy to enter this war, against impossible odds and forces not seen by any of us before. But let us remember the past and let it inspire us. The Forerunners gave their lives so that we could live. The Spartans gave their lives so humanity could live on. And the Master Chief, who in our darkest hour, set the Covenant free and saved all of our lives, just like his ancestors before him. Let us do the same for this galaxy, so that peace can finally return to this galaxy. For the Forerunners, the Spartans, and the Master Chief. Let us forge their memories into this galaxy's and yet them know we will never give up thanks to them. Long live the Mantle!"

"Long Live The Mantle!" every UANS soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs.

With the speech ending, Obi-Wan's mind began thinking. He was wondering what had Clador had meant when he said that the Forerunners, the Spartans, and the Master Chief had given their lives for them. Who were all of these unknown characters. And didn't the entire camp just call the red armored soldier a Spartan. Obi-Wan looked back at his team and the Senator's and they started to move back to the LAAT. But before they got a foot away, they turned when they heard Clador speak a single sentence.

"Spartan, Vadam, Kialo, . . . I have been given authorization code 9503095012."

Max looked back at the Shipmaster, his faceless visor staring into his eyes. Jalo and Alue were also looking between the Spartan and the Shipmaster. The time for secrets was over. The UANS had decided to reveal their greatest, current weapon to the entire two galaxies. Then Max spoke in his emotionless voice.

"Understood sir. We won't hold anything back in this fight."

And with that, he walked away with his team to the fight coming their way. With that last statement, Padmé, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka, and the clones were confused. What had the Shipmaster just allowed the Spartan to do? Clador was equally confused. For all the time he had known Max, he had not suspected that the Spartan was holding anything back. He was also wondering why command would make him hold back. What could the Spartan actually do, Clador wondered.

But, unknown to Clador, him, his men, the Republic, and even Team Epsilon, they all were going to get one of the biggest surprises of their lives in this battle.

* * *

**So, there is Chapter 3.**

**Also, I have been looking up past Jedi during this time and the whole three years of the Clone Wars. I have found some Jedi that could make interesting characters to add. I've decided to change something's, like if they died before or after this time. Also, I have change the time periods of some of the battles of the war to go with this story. I will make up my own battles and be using some battles that really happened. All of these events take place like 10 months before "Revenge of the Sith". Also, I plan on doing something pretty special with Grievous in this story, he has had some history and you should look it up. **

**Oh, and remember, no one really knows how advanced the Precursors and Forerunners were. Who knows what they were capable of?**

**I will see you next time in, "Chapter 4 – The First Shot"**

**Don't forget to review and comment. Please.**


	5. The First Shot

**_Chapter 4 – The First Shot_**

**Author's Notes:**

**Hi everybody, sorry it took so long. I have been busy with the college. I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter.**

**For those who are confused on why the UANS jumped straight into the fight, let me explain. One is that many of the UANS, especially the Sangheili, see the CIS as cowards by using just machines to do all the fighting. They see that the war crimes that the CIS have done are unforgivable, and action must be taken to stop them. The UANS has decided to follow the Mantle, and that means they must protect all life, even in another galaxy. Too many lives have already been lost in this war and they will end it now. They also don't want the CIS finding out about the Forerunners, the Flood, or the Halos. Can you imagine what they could do with those? They are stupid and would try to control them, just for profit. But, they wouldn't be able to. And they would end up releasing the Flood on two galaxies.**

**Also, changed the Republic ship's name to the "**_**Spirit Adventurer**_**", because the name "**_**Twilight**_**" already belongs to a different class ship. Made this change to all chapters mentioning it.**

**Also, the UANS and the Sangheili are the big brother types. Remember that.**

**Now enjoy Chapter 4**

**Oh, and please don't forget to review. Also, the chapters before this one have been updated and the ending was changed a little at the end on the last chapter, so you may want to look at the changes. Not big, just Team Epsilon is given a different assignment.**

**Update!**

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* * *

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Place: Planet Tatooine, Republic defense position surrounding Jabba the Hutt's palace

Time: 0910 hours, November 23rd, 2600 UANS calendar

Commander Cody was preparing his troopers. They had come down as soon as the _Spirit Adventurer_ had gotten to Tatooine and surrounded Jabba's palace. With him, was the _Spirit Adventurer's_ entire assortment of men and vehicles, which included: 40 LAATs, 24 AT-TEs and AT-RTs, 30 BARC speeders, 10 Turbo Tanks, and at least 2,000 troopers. There was also close to 70 bounty hunters and other mercenaries the Hutts had brought for there own protection. It wasn't much, but it would have to do till reinforcements arrived. Cody already knew that he was going to lose a lot of brothers during this fight.

He was at the make shift communication station with Jabba the Hutt, the rest of the Hutt Grand Council, Senator Organa, Representative Binks, and Senator Amidala's personal protocol droid, C-3PO, were there with him. The station was inside the palace, making it a less vulnerable target. There were also a few of the Hutts' bounty hunters with them. Three of them Cody was acquainted with or knew someone who was, all Cody was not happy to see. One was Cad Bane, a Duros bounty hunter who had caused a lot of problems for the Republic over the war. Another was Aurra Sing, a female near-human who had caused troubles for both Padmé and Ahsoka since the beginning of the war. They were not going to like seeing her again. The other was Boba Fett, the "son" of Jango Fett, the Mandalorian bounty hunter who was the blue print for the clone army. He had grown over the last few years and now wore his father's armor. He also did not liking having to work with Aurra Sing. They had worked together before and he felt that her actions were too aggressive and she did not care who got hurt, as long as she got her target. There were also a few other bounty hunters that Cody did not know their names. There was a Zabrak female, a Kyuzo male, some sort of exosuit-armored bounty hunter, a Gungan male with one eye, a huge vibroblade, and most of one of its headtails was missing, a Rodian male, and several other human, alien, and droid bounty hunters. They were preparing for when the CIS ships arrived and started deploying their droids.

Also present was some late arrivals that had arrived there during the night. These guests were a surprise to everyone, all of them being Jedi, or at least they said they were. They had told them that the Council would probably not know they were here and for some, could not confirm them as Jedi. They said they weren't a part of the war, but they would help defend the Hutts while they were there.

The first to arrive was an elderly male Veknoid by the name of Zao. He had just walked up to the front of the palace from the desert with his cane and asked to be let in politely. The guards then tried to push him out, which proved to be the wrong choice. Zao had then used his cane to simple disarm and defeat the five guards. He then entered the palace and introduced himself as a Jedi Master. At first, the Hutts did not fully believe him, but they soon believed him when they realized that he had taken out all five guards, while totally blind in both eyes. He said he saw the galaxy with the Force only. They realized only a Jedi could do such a thing.

The next to arrive was an even bigger surprise, especially to the clones when they arrived. Arriving in an old beaten up Z-95 Headhunter starfighter was a female Kaminoan Jedi Master by the name of Kina Ha. She said that the Council could not confirm her as a Jedi or a Jedi Master. She had been trained by a Jedi Master without the permission of the Council and probably could not be considered a real Jedi Master. She was also surprising over a thousand years old. She had been genetically altered to survive long hyperspace journeys. Unfortunately, the other Kaminoans treated her as an outcast due to a miscalculation that altered her Force-sensitivity and allowed her to become a Jedi. As soon as Cody met her, he immediately knew she was very different from other Kaminoans. She did not have the general disdain for imperfection seen in most Kaminoans, probably because she was seen as imperfect amongst her own people. She had journeyed around the galaxy during her early years. She had been living in seclusion on the sea floor of Kamino for a while now and only came here after having a vision a few days ago.

The last to arrive was an interesting group of so called Jedi. They arrived together in some ancient old rust bucket of a ship. Out of the ship came one male Sunesi by the name of Aqinos and twelve droids that consisted of old Juggernaut war droids, FLTCH series droids, and Uulshos Justice droids. The strangest thing about these droids was that they all carried lightsabers and were named after lightsaber crystals. Aqinos had told the Hutts that he was officially no longer a member of the Jedi Order due to him training his "Iron Knights" in the way of the Force during the Arkanian Revolution. The Iron Knights were in fact members of the sentient silicon-based crystal species known as Shards. In their natural state, Shards were immobile and had to be installed in specially modified droids if they wished to explore. When Aqinos discovered this group of Shard as Force-sensitive on Orax, he decided to train them as Jedi. When the Jedi Council had excommunicated and exiled Aqinos for training them, they followed him to Dweem. They had all come here after Aqinos had a Force vision telling him to come.

Cody was certain something big was going on. There was no way all these Jedi would come here for no reason and without knowing about the meeting with the Hutts. The arrival of the CIS ships also proved to be just another problem for him. He had called the Republic to tell them of the new situation with CIS ships and these Jedi. The Chancellor and the Jedi Council were equally surprised with the arrival of these Jedi. The Council talked about how something strange was going on Tatooine and that in fact a back up fleet was on its way, being lead by Grandmaster Yoda and several other Jedi. Yoda and these Jedi had also had a vision about Tatooine and was interested in why so many Jedi were being called through the Force there as well.

But, the Hutts were apparently more concerned with the unknown arrivals. The Hutts did not like unexpected surprises and these new contacts were quite the surprise. They were thinking about if they should send some of their bounty hunters to deal with them. Senator Organa was trying desperately to keep them from starting another war. The Jedi were conversing with each other over how they had all been brought there and wondering if these new contacts were somehow involved with their visions.

Cody was getting worried about all these strange events and was worried it was a bad sign for them. Just then, one of his soldiers ran up to him and the group at the comm station.

"Sir, we have two contacts approaching from the east."

With that, Cody ran outside with the Hutts, Senator, and Jedi right behind him. Cody grabbed his macrobinoculars and looked up.

He saw the two contacts. He identified one as the LAAT that General Kenobi had taken to the new contacts base, but the other was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was smooth and graceful like the unknown ship in space, but black with a white skull painted on the front. Right before he could think of anything else, his communicator went off. Cody answered it. It was General Kenobi.

"Commander Cody, we are inbound to the palace. Do not fire on us."

"General, I see you. Who is that behind you?"

"They are a special forces team from the group we met. They are here to help us defend the Hutts. They are also sending more troops to help defend the main line of defense. Do not fire upon them when they arrive. You'll know them when you see them. Myself, Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex and his men, and this team will be there shortly. When the reinforcements arrive, tell your troopers to get in touch with their commanding officer, a Fieldmaster Kado, and bring him to the palace. I wish to speak with him. Also, get in touch with the Jedi Council and the Chancellor, we need to discuss some things."

"They want to help us? Why would they risk war so quickly? Who are they?" Cody asked, confusion starting to make its way into his voice.

"I don't really know yet, but from what Padmé has told me so far, they are called the United Alliance of National Species and they are from an entirely different galaxy. Good luck Cody."

"Okay… wait what?"

But Obi-Wan had already disconnected his communication device, and leaving Cody more confused then ever. An army from a different galaxy, and they wanted to help them. This battle and war had just gotten even more complicated, again.

* * *

At this same time, inside the LAAT heading towards Jabba's palace, Obi-Wan was going over what he had just learned from Padmé, Satine, and Typho. To say that he was just as confused as Cody was an understatement, he was beyond confused. He basically had no knowledge of what was going on.

As soon as the news of the CIS fleet arriving had made it to him, he had ordered his men and the Senator's group back onto the LAAT. As they waited for the LAAT to get prep, Obi-Wan saw the strange armored human and his team head towards and enter one of the many aircrafts on the field, except this one was black with a white skull painted on the front. Seconds later, the two aircrafts lifted from the airfield and headed towards Jabba's palace.

On the way, Padmé began to tell Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, and his men what she and her companions had learned from the UANS. She began with telling them that they were from a different galaxy, and that they were here because of some ruins that were buried under the sand. After that, she was silent on the subject. She wanted to discuss everything else with both the Chancellor and the Jedi Council. She said that she would need a lot of time to explain everything and she did not feel like saying all she had to say more then once. She had explained a little of the species that made up the UANS, but not much else.

Obi-Wan knew that there was still more to learn, and then explain to the Jedi Council, but they had other more important matters to get to, which was to safely escort the Senator to Jabba's palace and to protect him and the rest of the Hutts there.

But, Obi-Wan's mind kept coming to this UANS. Why were these ruins they came here for so important to them? Why did they jump so quickly into this fight? Something was up and the UANS was hiding something. His mind also kept turning to this Captain Max. If he was right, this "Spartan", as he was called, was even more special then the UANS knew or was revealing. That also went for the two other soldiers as well that were a part of his team. He just wondered how much special they really were.

* * *

At this same instant, Max was giving his team prep. He had the night before ordered his team get all of there equipment onto the Hawk-Bat, he did not want to be caught off guard. He was not going to wait for the CIS to attack first. No, he was going to be prepared and ready for action right when they attacked.

Max spoke to his team. He said, "Alright Epsilon, our mission is to guard the Hutts and the Senators. I do not want any of you picking fights and trying to arrest these Hutts. They may be crime lords, but they are the responsibility of this galaxy's government and therefore their responsibility only. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," his teammates shouted their answer.

"Good, now that everyone knows what we need to do, we will use our call signs during this battle. Give green light if understood."

Max then lifted his hand to his helmet and the comm came on. He then saw the rest of his team reach for their comm devices as well. He heard all of his team give the green light, with the green light appearing on his HUD, acknowledging it.

"This is Lightning," Caltore spoke up from the "Hawk-Bat's" co-pilot seat, "Green light." He had his two energy daggers on his shoulders and his two energy swords on his thighs. He also had several smoke grenades, an energy garrote, and a Radar Jammer around his waist. He also had his Arc Rifle on his back. His armor's built-in active camouflage was fully charged and ready to be used. Max also noticed how Caltore was roughly 8 ft tall, as compared to the average Sangheili being 7 ft. Caltore obvious taller height was a rare genetic defect, but the extra height did not hinder his assassination skills.

"This is Blade," Alue spoke, "Green light." Her energy stave was on her back. Her energy blades were on her thighs. She had her Arc Rifle by her side. She had her katana blade out and was currently wiping it with a cloth.

"This is Heracles," Brutus spoke up from the pilots seat, "Green light." He had his Gravity Mallets were attached to his belt. His Stinger Shotgun was on his back. His Blazer Machine Gun was lying behind his seat, with a huge canister filled with extra tanks of ammo for it behind his seat. He had also grabbed an Armor Lock device for his armor, should he need it. He also had grabbed three Spike Grenades. He also had an "_Avery Cigar_" lit in his mouth and some big goggles around his neck.

"This is Fly," Diblo's mechanical voice spoke up from his wrist computer, "Green light." He had his Plasma Needler and his Double Barrel Pistol at his waist. He had also added his anti-gravity units to his wings to allow him to fly faster and higher. He was typing away at his computer, working on a project of his. Max noticed that beneath his purple armor, Diblo had a red shell. Diblo also had two horns going backwards on his head. Max looked at Diblo and thought of how if Diblo had never been born an unmutual, he would have been given command of a Yanme'e attack swarm.

"This is Bang," Mok spoke, "Green light." He had his Plasma Magnum on his left leg and his grandfather's Beam Rifle on his back. He had his Sentinel Rifle in his hands. He had also grabbed an energy gauntlet, just in cased someone got to close for his comfort. He had also grabbed a jet pack, to allow him to get to heights faster and easier. He was currently looking at a totem necklace around his neck. It was of a Kig-yar with two cutlasses crossing each other. The necklace was a family heirloom of his and was his good luck charm.

"This is Tracker," Dax spoke, "Green light." He had his Jackal Knife on his robotic left arm. He had also asked Fixer to install one of his wrist gauntlets into his robotic hand so he did not have to remember to grab two each time last night. It allowed him to use it better and faster. The other gauntlet was on his other arm. His Needle Pistol was at his waist. His Assault Needler was on his back. His hologram gear was attached to his armor. He was currently taking apart his Magnos Beam and cleaning all it's parts.

"This is Fixer," Just Right spoke, "Green light." He had his two Needle Pistols and two energy knives on top of his armored back. He had also grabbed a Drop Shield device to help defend himself and heal his allies. He had also grabbed some bio-foam canisters, just in case he needed it. He was currently working on a blaster that he had borrowed from the Senator. As Max watched his medic/engineer work, the blaster was taken apart into a million little pieces in seconds and then put back together in the same seconds. Though it looked exactly the same, Max knew that Fixer had probably improved it in a million different ways.

"This is Boom," Lelek spoke, "Green light." He had his two Plasma Magnums at his waist. His Plasma Rocket and PlaFrag Launcher were both stripped down to smaller modes and magnetically attached to his tank of methane. He was currently going through a bag of explosives he had put together. It was filled with PlaFrag Grenades, C-4 charges, Bouncing Betties, Plasma charges, and other explosives.

"This is Singer," Kalmar spoke, "Green light." He was kneeling down at the entrance with his bond brother. His body and spikes were vibrating while he spoke. His gravity broad and assault cannon were ready for action. He was humming a small tune at this time.

"This is Writer," Jala spoke, "Green light." His gravity broad and double barrel assault cannon were ready as well. His body and spikes were vibrating while he spoke as well. He was currently rumbling some words, probably trying to think of a good battle poem to celebrate this great battle that was going to happen.

"This is Redeem," Jalo spoke, "Green light." He had his two silenced Plasma Magnums in holsters on his gravity belt. His silenced Calpor SMGs were at his side for the moment. He was looking through his backpack of mystery. No one actually knew what was in there, except for Jalo.

Max then answered his team with, "This is Sparta. Green light for go." His energy katana were on his chest piece. His energy knife was at his waist. He had his Folra Rifle on his back and his Helic Rifle in his hands. He cocked the Helic.

Max then looked at Alue and Jalo. They nodded their heads, knowing what he was going to say next. Max then looked at the rest of his team. They saw the look he was giving them and knew that there was more he needed to say.

"Alright team, here's the deal. You are all probably wondering what the authorization code the Shipmaster gave me, Alue, and Jalo allowed us to do. So, here's the deal and my story. It all began with my childhood and then Project: R . . ."

* * *

A few minutes later, the two ships slowed and then landed outside the main door of the palace. There were a number of spacecraft around. There were also a number of clone troopers and other aliens and robots outside watching over the palace. Further out, there were even more clones and vehicles and walkers. A number of the clones approached the strange black craft with a skull painted on the front and raised their blasters by instinct.

As Obi-Wan's team exited their ship, he saw Commander Cody approached him. Right behind were Senator Organa, Representative Binks, C-3PO, Jabba and the rest of the Hutt Council, and their apparent bodyguards. There was also a group of people he didn't know a little bit back watching the "Hawk-Bat". Obi-Wan could not figure out who they were at first. He then noticed one was Jedi Master Zao, who Obi-Wan had met once at the Temple in his early years. Obi-Wan wondered why he was here. He was against the war from what he heard. The Hutts were also looking at the new ship with interest.

As Cody neared, Obi-Wan spoke. He said, "Cody, you can tell your men to stand down and let our guests get off their craft."

"Yes General," Cody said, "Troopers, stand down!"

The clones obeyed and lowered their blasters, but they were still prepared to use them in a second.

"Padmé, it's so good to see you unharmed. You had me worried when you did not come back yesterday," Senator Organa spoke to Padmé as he walked up to her and hugged her.

"I am sorry Bail. Things came up and by the time everything had slowed down, night had arrived and we could not travel without risking danger. We are lucky that our new friends invited us to spend the night. They are an interesting group. Speaking of which, Max and his team have not exited yet. I wonder why?"

"Probably getting their gear ready Senator," Captain Typho spoke, "From what I have seen and heard of them from the rest of their comrades, they are some of the best and considered quite serious soldiers when in combat. Yet, some of the most peculiar as well. The "marines" mention several nicknames that they have for them."

"Really," Anakin asked, "name some?

"Well, there was the Deathdealers, Hell's Keepers, Warriors of Silence, and Death's Musicians from what I heard."

"Strange names if I must say, but who are we to question the ways of others." said a new voice. Everyone turned to see Master Zao and the group he was with. The group consisted of a Sunesi, some droids, and oddly enough a Kaminoan. But, what was stranger was that they all had lightsabers and had a presence in the Force, even the droids.

"Indeed, and what a pleasure to meet you once again Master Zao," Obi-Wan spoke, "but, I must say, I was not expecting to see you or your friends here. What are you all doing here?"

"We were all called here by the Force for some reason," spoke the Kaminoan.

"Something big is going on here on Tatooine and the Force is trying to tell us something," spoke the Sunesi, "even Yoda is coming with the back-up fleet to investigate."

"Hmmm, this is strange," Obi-Wan spoke silently to himself, "I wonder. Could it somehow involve those three?"

Zao heard Obi-Wan's statement and spoke. He asked, "What three?"

Zao and everyone else were looking at him. But, Obi-Wan could not give them an answer. For at that moment, the ramp of the "Hawk-Bat" slowly started lowering. As the ramp touched the ground, Team Epsilon started to exit. Obi-Wan watched this special forces team members as they all started to get out.

The first out were two behemoths, each one crouching down as they walked out. When they got out, they stood to their full 12 ft height. Padmé had said they were called Mgalekgolo and that they were made of a smaller eel-like race called Lekgolo, which formed a "hive-mind" effect inside the Mgalekgolo armor. Each Mgalekgolo was just a whole colony made of Lekgolos. A Lekgolo colony came in a massive Mgalekgolo that could easily be the size of an AT-TE, as two Mgalekgolo who were around the sizes of these two, and many other forms, each with a unique purpose. Pairs were always near each other and were called bond brothers. The spikes that came out of their backs showed this. One of these Mgalekgolo wore a blue armor with green stripes and who had a huge cannon for a right arm and a giant shield for its left. It's other wore a green armor with blue stripes and who had a huge double barrel cannon for a left arm and a giant shield for its right. Both also had some sort of board on their backs, which Padmé had told him were gravity boards and could support their weight and get them to the battlefield fast. Their shields was made of the same material that their ships hulls were made of and could deflect almost all small arms fire, sometimes even larger firearms as well. Their cannon arms were covered in green pods of what Obi-Wan could only guess were filled with the plasma Padmé had said powered a lot of their tech and that they used as weapons. Obi-Wan also noticed orange flesh that seemed to keep moving on its own in places where there wasn't armor, mostly the neck, head, and their backs. Obi-Wan guessed these were the Lekgolo themselves. They were commonly called Hunters by the other marines.

The next out was one of the small, oversized forearm aliens with a cylindrical tank on its back and some sort of gas mask covering its entire face. It was about 5 1/2 ft tall and had a mottled gray, wrinkly skin. It wore fire orange armor with black smudges all over it. It had some sort of blasters at its waist and two large weapons attached to the tank on its back, which looked liked they had been taken apart so as to allow easy transportation. It also had a bag strapped across its right shoulder. It was called an Unggoy, but the marines just called them Grunts. They came from a world whose atmosphere was made of methane. They could not live outside their home world without the tank of methane or living in a methane filled home or room for very long. They were the weakest members of the UANS, but the most numerous. The Unggoy reproduced like mad and strict laws had to be placed on them to keep them from over populating and using up methane reserves. This Unggoy to Obi-Wan's eyes looked pretty tough for something considered the weakest member of an organization, but then again, Master Yoda had time and again proven size does not matter.

Right behind it came a floating squid/jellyfish looking alien that was a mix of pink, purple, and blue coloring. It also had six appendages, some sections of it were bulbous, a small snout, and several eyes. It wore a pinkish armor that had panels jutting out of its back. Obi-Wan noticed some sort of blasters on its panels and some sort of mini lightsaber rods. It was called a Huragok, but more commonly referred to as Engineers by the marines. They were apparently a race of biological supercomputers that were created by a long dead race known as the Forerunners. They were the UANS's researchers, engineers, and most recently, medics, both for the military and normal life. They could take apart any sort of technology down to microscopic level and put it back together, repaired and improved, in seconds. They were apparently docile and not violent in nature, but they would fight to defend themselves and their friends. They had just become medics in the military when some scientists invented a gel that could heal minor wounds on the battlefield. As the Huragok analyzed the gel, they learned they could reproduce the gel on their own and eject it from their tentacles. The Huragok apparently reproduced just by building more of themselves. They may have looked organic, but they in fact did not possess any true tissues or organs, but they had nano-mechanical surrogates that so closely mimicked their biological parts that they almost seemed organic to most observers. Huragok had mostly stayed out of the business of sides and only stayed with anyone to explore new technology. But, this changed when a Huragok absorbed the data of an advance AI and spread the data to the other Huragok. With this, they become more involved with politics and the other races. As Obi-Wan focused on the creature, he found that it was indeed alive and that it was as connected to the Force as any other living being.

The next out was a flying insect, which was around 6 ft tall and had a greenish-yellowish color, in purple armor. Obi-Wan noticed it had a red shell beneath the armor and two horns coming out of its head. It had two arms and four legs. One pair was attached to a pelvis like body segment, which were being used for walking, and the other pair was attached to an abdomen segment, which weren't being used at the moment. Its wings were underneath its shell. It had some sort of blaster with pink crystals, which were filled with some sort of glowing energy, sticking out of it and another blaster that had two barrels at its waist. It also had some sort of device on its left wrist, it looked like some sort of computer and had several wires connected to it. It was called a Yanme'e, but most perferred to call them Drones. They apparently were, like many insect species, centered on a hive-mind. This included queens, drones, workers, and soldier classes. They would usually work together in swarms to attack enemies. They used some sort of anti-gravity device to allow them to fly easily on any planet, which Obi-Wan could only assume were the strange devices on his shell wing cases. They may have looked weak, but a full-grown Yanme'e could lift a human into the air for several feet and then drop them to their deaths. The Yanme'e were the UANS's aerial insertion experts, scouts, surveillance, and could prove great distractions. They also helped out the Huragok as engineers on their ships. They apparently once had a deep jealously of the Huragok taking their jobs as engineers, but they had overcome this and grew to acknowledge the Huragok's intelligence and ask for advise from them on things that were hard to fix, then learn from them. As Obi-Wan focused on this Yanme'e, he wondered why this Yanme'e was not with its own kind. If they were hive-mind based, then it should not be able to work well with a team made up of different races.

Right behind it came two bird-like aliens. They both were about 6 to 7 ft tall. One had a dark brown armor on that resembled what Obi-Wan had seen the tall saurian aliens wearing mixed with what the humans were wearing. Its helmet had an open faceplate, to allow its extra long mouth through, that had some sort of scope attached to the right side and an opening in the back to let out its quill hair. Its armor had flaps at its arms that allowed quills to come out as well. Its eyes were an unearthly pale color and its skin was an orange color. It was also wearing some sort of necklace around its neck, with a wooden sculpture of one of its kind with two blades crossing each other. It was carrying a long rifle on its back and a different, equally long rifle in its hands. It also had some sort of device on its right wrist. It also had a small blaster at its side. The other one was wearing a lighter looking armor. This armor was exactly the same color of the sand. It had a cloak that covered its left side that was the same color. If it hadn't been moving, Obi-Wan probably could not have noticed it. The creature obviously looked like it knew camouflage. Obi-Wan then noticed that it was wearing a helmet that covered its eyes with yellow eye shields, and that instead of quills, it had feathers colored a rainbow of colors. Its mouth was slightly smaller then its counterpart and its body also looked more built then the other. Its skin was also a dark gray color. It had a very long blaster and another kind of blaster with pink crystals on it's back, a small blaster at its waist, and another device of similar design as the one on its companion on its right arm. They were called Kig-yar, or Jackals by most. They appeared avian, but they were in fact saurian in nature. They came from a society of pirates. They had stolen from rival clans in ancient times, and now they continued to pirate from everyone as space pirates. They had established a government, but numerous times it had collapsed on it self. Due to the help of the UANS, the government had become more stable and there were less Kig-yar pirates around now. There were still some, but they mostly stayed out of the UANS' problems and just worked on simple scams. They specialized as scouts and snipers in the military, since they had excellent senses of smell and sight. They also had a subspecies, called by most as Skirmishers. They had more built bodies and had feathers instead of quills. They were the Kig-yar shock troopers and specialized in both close and long range combat.

As soon as they got off, the bigheaded alien from before with gray armor came off. It was about 7 ft tall and had a brownish-pinkish skin color. It had two small blasters at its waist and two longer blasters in its hands. All four blasters looked like they had been modified from their original forms. The barrels looked longer then they were supposed to. It was also carrying a bag pack. It was called a San' Shyuum, but most called them Sans, Thinkers, or Science Dudes. They used to be called Prophets, but everyone thought of that as an insult to them now a days, especially the San' Shyuum. Obi-Wan did not get any real Intel on why, but Padmé said she would explain later. They were weak and had to use gravity belts to walk around straight without bending over. They did not usually enter the military as soldiers, more of scientists, engineers, intelligence agents, instructors, and technicians. They were also doctors and medics as well. They and human scientists worked together to build new tech to help the UANS in everyday life and military as well. They especially worked well with the UANS' OAI, which stood for "Office of Alliance Intelligence" and worked on many secret projects for the military.

Right behind the San' Shyuum, came the tall saurian with the blade and staff on its back. It was wearing an armor that was a green color mixed with a gold color. It was a little over 7 ft tall and had a gray skin color. Also, Obi-Wan noticed that there were a series of runes etched into the armor. It was wearing a helmet that was pointed in the back and let its mandibles out, but they were currently closed to make it seem like an ordinary jaw. It was carrying some sort of huge weapon that was glowing green were he could only assume it fired from. There were also two rods on its thighs that were similar to lightsabers. It was called a Sangheili, or Elites as most called them. As Obi-Wan looked upon the creature, he could not help but smile, the name suited it. The creature was covered head to toe with muscles. According to Padmé, the Sangheili society was centered on a militaristic government. The Sangheili were trained at an early age to fight. Their leaders were also chosen because of their skills and history in battle. It seemed barbaric to Obi-Wan, but they had apparently been doing this since before they had been space traveling. They were also very honor driven and if they drew a weapon, they were honor bound to use it. The loss of their blood was shameful, the Sangheili saw their blood as their physical honor and did not have many doctors among their people due to them believing that those who spilt blood for a living were dishonorable. The Sangheili mostly entered careers in the military as soldiers, captains of ships, generals, strategists, and other areas that involved combat. They had calmed down a little bit to at least let most human, Huragok, and sometimes San' Shyuum doctors patch them up and look over them. There were a few Sangheili that had little respect for the San' Shyuum, something over a conflict they had had a while ago.

As Obi-Wan looked over the San' Shyuum and the Sangheili, he felt their presences in the Force again. He was definitely right about those two, as well as their commanding officer. As he looked over the Sangheili again, he felt there was something different about it from the Shipmaster. But, he could not place what it was. He also noticed that Master Zao's group was looking at the two as well and the San' Shyuum and the Sangheili were looking at them back. But Master Zao was more focused on the craft. He couldn't see anything with his eyes, but Obi-Wan guessed that he was sensing the same thing that he had discovered as well.

Then Obi-Wan heard a grunt. He turned back to the aircraft and saw a huge mammal in white armor come out. It had a brownish fur color and was about 9 ft tall. Its face was hairless, showing gray skin, and had a fanged snout. It was carrying a few long spike sticks and two very large hammers with blades at its waist. Obi-Wan could not imagine why a creature would bring hammers onto a battlefield. There was a large canister in its right hand. It also had a strange blaster on it back with a huge blade on top and some sort of device under it. But, what was the most amazing was the huge weapon with three blades on the barrel and two small tanks near the middle, which it was carrying slung over its left shoulder with its left paw on it, like it weighed nothing. It was obviously strong by showing this action. The weapon had to weigh a few tons; along with the other gear it had on it. Obi-Wan then noticed that the creature had black skulls painted onto its shoulder guards. They looked almost exactly like the skull on the aircraft, but black instead of white. It also had some sort of goggles around its neck and a cigar in its mouth. If Obi-Wan had to guess, it was the pilot of the team. But, it apparently still could fight on the ground if it had that much firepower. It was called a Jiralhanae and apparently had anger problems. Their whole society was based on a warrior life style, giving them their nickname of Brutes. If someone got a Jiralhanae angry enough, they would enter a blind blood rage and kill anything in their path, even their own men if they weren't careful. As Obi-Wan observed this Jiralhanae, he did not sense any anger. Just calmness and relaxation, like nothing big was about to happen. This Jiralhanae was different from other Jiralhanae, Obi-Wan could feel it.

Next came another Sangheili, this one in a totally black armor and slightly taller than its counterpart, being around 8 ft tall. Its skin was more of a darker gray color. Its helmet was pointed at the front and enclosed its mandibles. It had two of the lightsaber like devices at its waist and one smaller rod on each shoulder. He also had several small canisters, a small red orb, and a thin rod at its waist. It was also carrying another of the same huge green blasters in its hands.

Right behind it came the Spartan soldier called Max. As Obi-Wan looked more closely at him, he noticed that the armor was not all red. The red plates were interlocked onto a black suit underneath. He also, along with his ridged helmet, had ridged armor on his shoulder and knee guards. There was also a small rod, similar to what the Huragok had, at its waist. On its chest piece were two bigger rods going in a down v-shape. There was some sort of blaster on its back that had a scope attached to the top. In its hands was another blaster, similar to what the Skirmisher had, but minus the pink crystals. Obi-Wan also noticed a small wrapped bundle at his waist. There also seemed to be a symbol on his shoulder guards. They were of a small circle at the top and within a bigger circle, with a line connecting it to the bottom of the bigger circle. There also seemed to be a R in the middle of the smaller circle.

As he exited the craft, all eyes fell on him. He also turned and observed his surroundings. After looking around, he approached Obi-Wan. He then spoke in his emotionless tone.

"I am Captain Spartan Maximilian-251 Washington. Address me as either Max or by my call sign, Sparta. Now, where are these Hutts my team is supposed to protect?"

"Oh, they are right there," Obi-Wan spoke and pointed towards Jabba and the rest of the Hutt Grand Council who were right behind him.

"Hmm, alright. Epsilon! Form up!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, his team formed into a straight line in front of their aircraft. Max slowly walked to the front of his team. He turned his head to look each in their eyes, and his team in turn locked their eyes on his visor. He then addressed them.

"Okay Epsilon, here's the plan. Lightning, Fly, Tracker, Fixer, Redeem. I need you to lead the Hutts and the Senators into the palace and guard them from there. Lightning, you're in charge till I say otherwise. Redeem, I need you to act as ambassador for me and the entire UANS."

"Understood sir!" Caltore, Diblo, Dax, Fixer, and Jalo shouted. Max then turned towards his heavy weapons specialists.

"Singer and Writer, I need you two to guard the front entrance to the palace. Do not let anyone in unless the Jedi, the Senators, the Hutts, or I say so. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Kalmar and Jala both spoke.

"Blade, Heracles, Bang, Boom, you're with me. We'll stay out here and defend the outside of the palace. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Alue, Brutus, Mok, and Lelek responded

"Good. You all have your orders. Move out!"

"Yes sir!"

And with that Team Epsilon split up. Both Kalmar and Jala went and stood at the sides of the palace entrance. Max, Alue, Brutus, Mok, and Lelek decided to stand around the "Hawk-Bat". Caltore, Diblo, Dax, Fixer, and Jalo went towards Obi-Wan's group. Obi-Wan was impressed with how quickly this Spartan was able to give orders and get his team in motion.

As the group that had been told to watch the Hutts and Senators approached, the extra tall Sangheili in black armor raised his fist and slammed it into his chest. He then extended his hand. He then spoke in a calm, powerful voice.

"Greetings, I am Special Operations Major Caltore 'Voltar. My call sign is Lightning. I am Team Epsilon's second in command and assassin."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Caltore," Obi-Wan responded and took Caltore's hand.

Then the Yanme'e walked up and started typing on the small wrist computer. Then a computerized voice emitted from the device.

"Greetings, I am Major Diblo. My call sign is Fly. I am Team Epsilon's scout and hacker."

It then raised its hand and Obi-Wan took it as well.

Then the Kig-yar Skirmisher walked up and extended its right hand. It then spoke in a raspy, gruff voice.

"Name's Dax. Major Champion Dax. Call sign, Tracker. And I'm Epsilon's tracker/hunter."

Obi-Wan grabbed Dax's three-fingered hand and when he did, he felt something. This Dax had a small presence in the Force, just untrained. Obi-Wan also noticed that it still had its cloak covering its left side. Obi-Wan wondered why.

Then the Huragok approached and extended one of its tentacles. It then began whistling and moving it's other tentacles in many different motions. Then Diblo walked over and began typing on his computer. The mechanical voice then spoke up again.

"This is Minor Just Right, but he prefers to be called by his call sign Fixer. He is the team's engineer/intelligence gatherer and also our medic. He is honored to meet you."

"Oh, thank you Fixer," Obi-Wan spoke and then gently grabbed the tentacle offered.

Fixer then turned towards Padmé and floated over to her, Diblo following close behind. When Fixer was in front of Padmé, it grabbed a blaster that had been underneath one of its panels and presented it to her. Padmé accepted the blaster. It then turned to Diblo and started moving his tentacles in similar motions as before. Diblo then began typing on his computer again and soon the voice emitted again from the device.

"Fixer would like to thank you Padmé for letting him analyze blaster technology. It was a fun experience taking it apart and putting it back together."

"Oh, you are welcome Fixer," Padmé spoke.

With that, Fixer and Diblo went back to their group. As soon as they were back, the San 'Shyuum headed towards Obi-Wan. As it grew nearer, Obi-Wan focused more on it. He felt that it's mind was indeed strong and that it was pushing him back. Obi-Wan noticed that it face showed that it was calm, but he noticed a few spots of sweat dripping down. This San 'Shyuum had been trained to fight with it's mind, but it apparently had little experience with dealing with it in reality. Soon it was in front of him and right beside Caltore. It then extended its three-fingered hand and then spoke in a wise voice.

"Greetings, I am Major Jalo Kialo. My call sign is Redeem. I am Epsilon's translator/researcher/espionage specialist. I am also trained to act as an ambassador and a politician. As of this moment, I will be acting as the current ambassador between our two governments."

"I understand Jalo, so are you all ready," Obi-Wan spoke as he shook Jalo's hand.

Jalo then turned towards Caltore. Caltore nodded his head in a yes. Jalo then turned back to Obi-Wan. He then spoke.

"Yes, I believe we are."

"Excellent, now lets go and speak with the Jedi Council and the Chancellor. We need help and soon. We also need to learn a bit more about each other. Agreed?"

"Indeed," Caltore spoke.

At this moment, Jalo was looking at the group before him. He was frowning. He then spoke again.

"If I can offer some words of advice, I think your group might want to split up as well so that the palace doesn't become overcrowded."

Obi-Wan then looked behind him and noticed that Jalo had a good point. The group consisted of about 50 people. That probably would be overcrowded.

"Hmm, you are right. Rex, tell your men to surround the palace and guard it from all sides.

"Yes General," Rex spoke, "You heard him troopers."

"Yes sir," Rex's men shouted and began to surround the palace.

Then the Sunesi turned towards one of the droids and spoke to it.

"Ilum, ask for several of your children to stay here and help too."

"Yes Master Aqinos," the droid known as Ilum spoke in a feminine voice.

She then turned towards the other droids that had a presence in the Force. Soon most of the droids began to walk off to join the defenses. In the end, there were only two of the twelve droids left, Ilum and another. There were now about 20 people in the group.

"That's a good amount," Jalo spoke, "Large enough to allow us to be well defended and small enough so that we don't bump into each other if fighting starts. I believe now we are ready."

"You are correct. So, let's go meet the Jedi Council and the Chancellor. We need to get our facts straight."

The groups then headed towards the palace and the communication station where the Jedi Council and the Chancellor were waiting to speak to them. As they neared the entrance, the huge Mgalekgolo pair allowed them to pass. The last one in was Master Zao. As he was about to walk through, he turned his head to the side so that his blind right eye was looking in the direction of Team Epsilon. He did not need his eyes to see what he was sensing from a certain red armored soldier and a certain wrapped bundle at his waist. Then with a small smile, he turned back and continued into the palace.

* * *

Fieldmaster Kado 'Lodam was in the side seat of a new UANS Warthog. There was a human driving the Warthog. There was a Jiralhanae on the turret on the back. The Warthogs were basically the same as during the Human-Covenant war, but now it could switch from a four-wheeled vehicle to a hover vehicle. This changed was made after seeing both the positives and negatives of both types. They saw that hover tech allowed for faster speeds and wheels helped to increase maneuverability.

As soon as the Shipmaster had announced the situation, Kado had gotten his men battle ready and had headed for this Jabba's palace. This was going to be their first real battle for most of them. Of the_ Avery Johnson's _900 crewmembers, he was bringing 600 soldiers. 100 men had headed to the _Johnson_ as engineers, officers, pilots, and other essential crewmembers. The last 200, Kado had ordered to stay back at the base and guard it and the ruins. He had also ordered them to continue excavating the ruins by using the 5 Tarantulas they had brought along to get started on digging.

The Tarantulas were the UANS's new improved Locusts units. They were mainly used for mining and excavating, but were just as capable of defending themselves as their predecessors. They had changed to the UANS's green color and had been changed from 4 legs to 8 legs, with a cockpit that could hold 3 or more crewmembers. Its charged plasma cannon had also been upgraded, allowing for them to fire more powerful and precise shots. They also had built in scanners that could detect structures in the earth. This allowed the Tarantulas to dig with their beams without damaging the ruins.

Kado had left them to continue incase the base was overrun and they had nowhere else to go. They could use the ruins as a back up base. They might also find a defense system and Sentinels. Those could be useful against these droids.

He had ordered his men to grab any weapons they could carry. Those weapons included the old Human-Covenant era weapons and equipment, which included Plasma Rifles, Needlers, Carbines, Spikers, Needle Rifles, Brute Shots, Flame Grenades, Concussion Rifles, Energy Swords, Gravity Hammers, Spartan Lasers, Sniper Rifles, Bubble Shields, Deployable Shields, Energy Drainers, and Regenerators. They had also brought Arc Rifles, Stinger Shotguns, Gravity Mallets, PlaFrag grenades, PlaFrag Launchers, Plasma Rockets, Plasma Needlers, Needle Pistols, Plasma Magnums, Sentinel Rifles, Magnos Beams, and Calpor SMGs. He had also told everyone to grab as many of the new EMP grenades as they could carry. The EMP grenade was in the prototype stages and had just been sent to the crew of the _Johnson_ 5 months prior to test them out. They were meant to discharge an electromagnetic pulse in a 6 ft radius, taking out all electronic devices, be they powered electrically or by plasma. They hadn't really had time to test them. They definitely weren't expecting to get to test them out on an army of machines. Kado was glad they had something that could be useful, hopefully. They also grabbed a few Plasma Cannons and Machine Gun turrets. They had also brought some sand bags to help create defenses around the palace.

He also had every military vehicle they had. This included: 18 Warthogs, 20 T-Rex tanks, 15 Owl aircraft, 12 Raven transports, 30 Hawk transports, 40 Ferret cycles, and 20 Wraiths tanks. This was the every vehicle the _Johnson's_ had onboard. It wasn't much, but it would have to do till the back up fleet arrived.

The Wraith tanks were the same, except they were a new UANS green color and had a better targeting system, making it easier to fire and hit the target you wanted. The T-Rex tanks were a different story. They were the UANS's new improved Scorpion tanks. It was basically the same in shape, except with a few exceptions. They were changed to hover tanks and been given a speed booster system. They also had two cannons, one larger then other, which was in fact a mini MAC gun. The mini MAC could fire up to two MAC rounds every 10 seconds without overheating. It also had 2 stabilizer legs in the front and 2 in the back that could grab onto the ground when the MAC needed to be fired, this would allow the tank to fire the MAC and not suffer from the recoil. The other cannon fired the same kind of round as the Scorpion, except this round was filled with plasma. It also had a machine gun turret in the front with a metal dome around it to protect the turret operator. The tank was also made of the same Wraith armor and it was the UANS green color. The tank driver's cockpit was also completely sealed like a Wraith, leaving the driver less of a target. The tank had also been given a shielding system to take more fire.

The Owl gunship was the UANS's new improved Sparrowhawk gunship. It was basically the same in shape, with a few new upgrades, one being a built in shield generator and a cloaking system. It still used dual ducted air fans to get into the air and fly, but it also had been given a speed booster to help it be as quick as any Banshee. It also had two dual GUA-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannons, which could switch from firing superheated metal rounds to plasma blasts. It also had two Spartan Cannons, which were the new and improved Spartan Lasers that were smaller and more powerful than their cousins, under the nose of the craft. They were the new UANS green color and were made of the same metal that the Banshees were made of. The Owl could hold one pilot and one gunner. It was also as silent as an owl before it attacks, giving them their name.

The Raven transports were the UANS's new improved Falcon transports. They were like most of the UANS's vehicles the same in shape. It still used twin turboprop engines, but it also had a speed booster system as well. It had been upgraded with a shielding system and the rotors could spin at a faster and quieter rate. It had also grown a bit. The cockpit could hold one pilot and one co-pilot. The nose of the Raven had also had a M638 Autocannon and a grenade launcher. The hold could also hold 8 people now, 4 door gunners and 4 passengers. The two door gunners nearest the nose were machine guns and the two in the back were grenade launchers. Doors had also been added to help protect the crew inside the hold and the gunners as well. The guns were in the hold with them and there were holes in the doors to let the guns barrels through.

The Ferret cycles were the UANS's replacement for the Mongoose and Ghost units. They combined both units into a pretty quick unit. It was used mostly for recon, but they could defend themselves. Their shape was the same as the Ghost, except that it could switch from a hover mode to a 4-wheeled mode, with two wheels in the back and 1 wheel on each wing. This was done for the same reasons as the Warthog. It also had a speed booster system like the Ghost. It was the UANS's green color. They fired twin plasma cannons, like the Ghost, but that were more powerful. It was also a two-seater, the front being the pilot and gunner and the back for a passenger. They were the UANS's fastest land vehicles in action now.

Kado's Warthog was leading the small army. Every single soldier and weapon had been loaded up inside every transport. The soldiers that could not fit inside a vehicle was riding on top of the T-Rex tanks and sweating from the heat. Some had also stayed back at the base till a transport could drop off their load and come get them. Kado was glad to know that the _Leviathan _and the rest of the back-up fleet would be here in a few hours, he did not know how long his men would last.

He was wearing his battle worn maroon Zealot armor, with blue lights running down the helmet and the shoulders. There were numerous marks and scratches on it from old battles. He was tapping on the Concussion Rifle he was holding. He also had his trustee Energy Sword and Plasma Rifle at his waist, as well as several PlaFrag and EMP grenades. Kado was over 100 years old, a veteran of both the Human-Covenant War and the War with the Loyalists. He had seen more action then anyone on the _Johnson_.

As they were traveling to Jabba's palace, Kado's old mind began to wander. He began thinking of battles and memories that always came to him when he was about to enter a battle. He slowly moved his hand down to his waist and grabbed something. He slowly brought the object up to his face.

It was a huge metal ring. It was about the size of a Sangheili fist. The strangest thing though was that there were old dog tags on it. There had to be at least 50 dog tags on it. As Kado continued to look at the ring, his mind went back to the time when he gained them.

* * *

Flashback: Sometime during the Human-Covenant War

The human soldier screamed as Kado thrust his blade through his heart. After a few seconds, the soldier became silent and moved no more. Slowly, Kado pulled the sword out. He then kneeled down to the human and closed the soldiers eyes shut. He then reached for the deceased soldier's dog tags and ripped the chain from his neck. He then removed the chain and added the tags to his ring, which Kado had been adding to from every human soldier he killed with his hands personally. He then spoke a silent prayer.

"Rest in peace warrior. It was an honor facing you in combat. May you find a place of safety for you and your kin in the afterlife."

"Fieldmaster!" someone shouted.

Kado turned to see one of his Sangheili Minors running up to him. Kado also looked around and notice that the rest of his soldiers were finishing up the rest of the human soldiers stationed at this outpost. He then turned back to the Minor.

"What is it soldier?"

"Fieldmaster, the Shipmaster has called us back to the ship sir. The glassing of this world is to begin shortly. He wishes to speak to you when you get there."

"Understood. Gather our men. We're reporting back to the ship."

A few hours later, Kado was walking up to the bridge of the _Victorious Storm_, the ship he was stationed aboard. As he approached the bridge, the automatic doors opened for him. As he stepped onto the bridge, the Shipmaster's chair turned towards him. He then spoke.

"Ah, Fieldmaster Kado 'Lodamee. Congratulations on another victory against the human filth. I am also glad to report that you have been promoted to …"

"No," Kado interrupted his Shipmaster.

The Shipmaster looked Kado in the eyes. He then sighed.

"Again? Fine, I will inform the Council of Masters of your answer."

"Thank you Shipmaster," Kado spoke and then exited the bridge.

After a short while, Kado came upon the ship's mess hall. Kado noticed a few of his soldiers already there grabbing something to eat after the hard fighting they had gone through today. He got nods and bows as he walked by, even some of the Jiralhanae there showed their form of respect. Apparently news of his promotion and declining of it had spread again. This would be the fifth time this month.

Kado grabbed a small bundle of bread and a large glass of water. He then took a seat at one of the tables. He slowly lifted his helmet off his head and placed it by his side. He started nibbling on the bread. After a while, he stopped. He then grabbed the ring of dog tags from this battle. There were about 40 tags on it from this battle. Kado then started removing the tags from the ring and laying them down on the table. He then started dipping each one into the glass and sucking the water off them. He then placed the tag down on the other side of the glass and continued the process with the rest of the tags.

As Kado was finishing off the last tag, he heard footsteps behind him. Then a voice spoke up.

"I will never understand why you do that brother."

Kado smiled. He then spoke.

"What I do may never be truly understood by anyone but myself, little brother."

Kado turned around to face Minor Thel 'Lodamee. The two of them had been born from the same female. They did not know if they shared the same sire or not, but they did not care either way. They were happy just being bonded by their mother. Kado had been watching over Thel since he was born shortly before the war. Kado was glad that Thel had finally entered the military a few months prior and been stationed under his command. Kado had a feeling that one of the higher ups had done this on purpose, either as a way to make sure Kado gave it his all or maybe to create another warrior in his image.

As Kado took in his little brother, he noticed something new. Instead of wearing the normal blue armor of Minors, Thel was wearing a new red armor. Kado knew this could only mean one thing. And with that, Kado began to laugh out loud for everyone in the mess hall to hear and turn to him.

"Ha ha ha ha! So, my dear little brother has become a Major already. And you have only been in the military a few months now. Congratulations! I hope you earned it."

"I did brother, and thank you," Thel spoke.

"So, are you sticking with us or has the Council of Masters stationed you somewhere else," Kado asked.

"I am to join the Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence when we return to _High Charity,_ brother."

"Oh, Luro 'Taralumee's fleet. Be careful with him. He does not consider the humans as strong and wise as they really are. His thoughts may one day cause great problems and you will need to be prepared for that day when it comes, little brother."

"I will brother."

Kado then turned back to his meal and tags. He began to munch on what was left of the bread and then began to put the dog tags back onto the ring. As soon as he was done with the tags, he looked at his glass of water. It was filled with bloody water. He then grabbed the glass and then began to gulp down the dirty water. After a few gulps, the glass was empty. Kado then spoke.

"To those who fought valiantly to the end."

"Brother, if I may ask? Why do you do these things that you do?"

"What things?"

Thel then took a seat on the other side of the table in front of Kado. Thel then spoke.

"One, why do you always turn down promotions. By now, you could be a Fleetmaster and leading entire fleets now against humanity. I have even heard that your name has been whispered between the Councilors as a possible future candidate on the High Council."

"Hmmm, now that is news. Funny. I can't believe those aristocrats would allow someone of my social status to enter their ranks. Ha!"

"This is serious brother. You joining them would mean raising our clan's status back on Sanghelios. You've already been given a sword and you are not even of noble birth. You are extremely important to Sanghelios and everyone knows that. You are one of the best Fieldmasters and warriors the Covenant has."

Kado then got a bit more serious. He then said, "Oh I know little brother. Now, the reason I don't want to rise higher in rank is simple. I don't want to become like those other Sangheili, like Luro. I don't want to become over confident in myself and miss important details. I also want to die on the battlefield, not in space where my body will wander for the rest of internality or die of old age dealing with politics. If I am to die, it will be on the ground, with my brothers and soldiers fighting with me, till the last breath. I will fight an honorable fight and will not end a fight just by glassing the area that my enemy is at. Now, is there anything else you need to know?"

"Yes brother," Thel spoke with a new look of seriousness on his face, "Why do you collect those metal words the humans wear around their necks."

Kado slowly began to move the dog tags around the metal ring. He was in deep contemplate on how he should answer. He soon decided to tell his little brother everything.

"I do it to remember those I killed with my own hands. These metal words are the names of those soldiers who I personally killed and watched as their lives ended honorably."

"Honorably?"

"Yes, little brother. Humanity may not look like it but they are some of the best warriors I have ever witnessed. Some even out match some Sangheili I have met. They fight even when there seems to be nothing left worth fighting for. They fight on no matter what and fight with every ounce of strength in their bodies. For every ounce of ground they still have and have lost in this war. They will never surrender and never give up. Do you know why?"

"Why," a voiced asked next to them. Both of them turned to see one of Kado's Sangheili warriors had taken a seat next to them. They also noticed that several other Sangheili, Unggoy, Kig-yar, some Jiralhanae, and even an Mgalekgolo pair had gathered around to listen. They were all under Kado's command and would follow his orders to the death, even the Jiralhanae. The Jiralhanae's pack leader had died in a battle a few months ago and they had yet to get a replacement leader, so Kado had been acting as their pack leader till then. While under his command, the Jiralhanae had grown to respect him and other Sangheili more. He would not lead his men on suicide missions or leave one of them behind if they could still fight and breath. The whole crew worked well together under his command.

Kado smiled. He had single-handily earned the respect of every crewmember on this ship. No matter what he was ordered to do, they would only obey it if he gave the ok. He could not ask for any better warriors or brothers.

"Because they do have something worth fighting for. Hope," Kado spoke, "Hope that their sacrifice will not be in vain. Hope that they will be remembered for their sacrifice. Hope that their children and loved ones will be able to live thanks to their sacrifice. Hope that they will have died for a brighter future. And the hope that they will win this war and live to see peace at last. That is why humanity fights on. Because they still have a noble cause to fight for. A noble cause I know will be remembered in the centuries to come by all of us. So, let us toast to humanity and hope that no one forgets how the slightest bit of hope can change the outcome of any battle, no matter the odds. To Hope!"

"To Hope!" Shouted the members of the crew in the mess hall as they raised their glasses and roared to their Fieldmaster.

As the celebrating ended, Kado's men slowly started to leave the mess hall, probably to spread the words of his speech. Soon, there was only Kado and Thel left. Thel then spoke his mind again.

"Be careful brother. The Hierarchs might see your actions as a sign that you do not believe in them or the Great Journey. They might band you as an heretic for your ways."

Kado slowly got up and grabbed his helmet. He then gently placed it back on his head. He then started walking towards the main door. Right as it opened for him, he turned back to face Thel.

"Oh, don't worry little brother. My faith in the Hierarchs and the Great Journey cannot be broken that easily. I just wish that humanity wasn't full of heretics. They would make a great companion on the Great Journey."

Kado then turned back to the door and began to walk while speaking his last thoughts.

"I will return to my quarters little brother. When we arrive at _High Charity_, I will be there to say good-bye. Till then, rest up soldier! Ha ha ha!"

Thel smiled and then spoke, "As you wish, Fieldmaster."

At few minutes later, Kado walked into his private quarters. He then took the ring of dog tags and placed it on a hook sticking out of the wall. He then approached a metal rack and slowly removed his combat harness and helmet, revealing an aged and scarred body from years of war and fighting, and placed it on the rack. He then grabbed a bundle of clothes that were on the rack and put them on. They were simple and not anything fancy, perfect for sleeping in.

He then approached the simple bunk in the room. He slowly sat down and got beneath the covers. Before he shut his eyes he looked around his room. On all the walls were hooks similar to the one he had placed the ring on. And on every one of those hooks was a ring as well; some even had more than one. There had to be at least 30 rings on his walls, with at least 30 or 50 dog tags on each ring. Kado then spoke a small prayer.

"Rest in peace warriors. Rest in peace, honor brothers."

Soon, he was asleep and resting for his next mission against humanity.

* * *

Back to present

"Fieldmaster!"

Kado awoke from his memories and looked to his driver, who had spoken.

"Yes?"

"We're approaching the Republics front line defense. Sir."

Kado looked up and saw that indeed they were approaching the main defense. He could see soldiers clad in white armor and huge walker tanks. The walkers weren't as big as a Scarab, but they would do for now. Kado then put the ring back at his waist and got a good grip on his Concussion Rifle. Now it was time to act and remember things later.

"Excellent, now we see how these clones fight in a battle."

* * *

Neimoidian Captain Kav Duk was at the bridge of his ship. The 6 CIS ships had just arrived in the system. They were all _Munificent_-class star frigates, and they had been sent ahead of the main fleet to start the invasion by Count Dooku. Kav was in a good mood.

It began when the young captain had been told to head ahead of the main fleet and to begin the invasion of Tatooine. He though that if he could take care of the Hutts before the main fleet arrived, he might be able to savage some of their resources and maybe get a promotion in the CIS at the same time.

He then noticed two ships heading towards them. He had order the scout fleet to stop. One was a Republic cruiser and the other was a kind of ship he had never before seen. But from what Kav saw of it, it looked like it had cost a lot and was worth even more.

At this moment, while Kav was calculating how much he could make from salvaging the ship, the door to the bridge opened. With it, a strange white cyborg walked in. This cyborg wore a brown cape and had several lightsabers on his belt. He was none other then General Grievous. He had been sent along to make sure the Hutts died.

"What are you doing? Why have we stopped," Grievous shouted.

"Good, General, you are here," Kav said, "so, what do you think of that ship. Quite a bit of credits was put into making it. Must be a wealthy merchant or one of the Hutts personal ships. Eh General."

As he said this, he pointed to the new ship. As Grievous examined the unknown ship, he saw the truth. He then spoke.

"You are wrong about that captain."

"Oh really. And what makes you say that General."

"The ship is indeed what you may call beautiful and does look costly, but it is far more than that. You Neimoidians may be good businessmen, but you are not military geniuses. That ship is most definitely military in origin. It is probably made that way to show that they would prefer to make peace, but it is quite oblivious that it is capable of fighting us head on."

"Hmm, I wonder if we can get them to join us in the war."

Just then, the droid at the communications station spoke up. It said, "Captain, we are receiving a transmission from the unknown ship. Should I put them through?"

"Yes, do so droid. I wish to speak to this group."

"Roger, roger."

A few seconds later, a hologram appeared on the bridge. As Grievous looked at the strange saurian creature before him, he felt a familiar sense of kinship from it. This creature was a warrior like himself. They both had the spirits of fighters inside and they knew war like it was in their blood. Grievous also noticed that the creature had a rod on its thigh that very much resembled a lightsaber.

The creature then spoke in a calm, yet powerful voice. It said, "Greetings, am I speaking to the commander of the ship?"

Kav then spoke, "Greetings, I am Captain Kav Duk. And who may I ask am I speaking to?"

"I am Clador 'Taluo, the Shipmaster of the _UANS Avery Johnson_."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, I think that with time we can become …"

Kav never got to finish his sentence, for Clador decided to interrupt and end this conversation quickly.

"I am sorry to say that there will not be another time to meet if you do not leave right now or else I will be forced to fire on your fleet."

For a second, Kav was silent. So was Grievous. Neither one of them was expecting this "Shipmaster" to declare something like this so quickly.

Kav then asked, "And why would you want us to leave so soon."

Clador's face began to show, what Grievous could only guess as, anger and seriousness. He then spoke.

"Do not try to fool me. We already know who you are, CIS, and we know what you have done, especially your war crimes. I will fight you if I have to, but I will give you a chance to leave and live to see another day. My government will probably officially join the Republic in its war with you, to end this war, in a few weeks, but we are not officially allied to them, yet. But, should you attack my ship or my people stationed on Tatooine, it will be seen as a declaration of war on us and I will be left with no other choice but to attack you and all your ships. My people have taken an oath to protect and defend all forms of life, and that includes the Hutts, who have come to this planet for a meeting, and the clones, who, as we speak, are right now setting up defenses against you. This is your only warning. Goodbye." And with that, Clador's hologram disappeared.

With this, Kav lost it. He then yelled.

"How dare he try to lecture me! Order all ships to destroy that new ship immediately! We cannot and will not allow them to join the Republic!"

As Grievous looked at the shouting Neimoidian, he turned around and started to head to the hanger. As he was about to exit the bridge, Kav asked him a question.

"And where do you think you are going General?"

Grievous looked back at the Neimoidian captain with a hard stare. He then answered.

"I am heading to my fighter to observe this fight. I will not die due to your mistake Neimoidian. I will info Dooku of your death."

And with that, Grievous left for his fighter. Kav grew even angrier. Even that fool Grievous was a coward at heart he thought. But, he was not going to let anything stop him from a promotion and riches beyond his dreams. He was going to destroy that ship and take it for savage.

"Tell the fleet to move forward and have 60 percent of power diverted to the forward cannons. If we destroy that ship quickly enough, we might be able to pin it on the Republic and get this government of theirs on our side."

"Roger, roger," the bridge droids responded.

* * *

A few minutes later, the 6 CIS ships moved forward again and moved towards the _Johnson_. As soon as Clador noticed this he sighed.

"Athena."

A hologram of a human woman in Greek armor with a spear appeared by his side from a holographic pedestal.

"Yes Clador," the AI asked in a sassy voice.

"It looks like our opponent is either very young, very stupid, or both. Agreed?"

"Indeed Shipmaster. Probably both."

"Are our MACs ready to fire?"

"Yes Shipmaster. Just give the order. I can tell by the energy readings they are giving off that their power is being diverted to their weapon systems more and their shields are weak right now. Also, at full power, I believe that all 6 ships are at the same strength as us, sir."

"Excellent, an even fight. Communications, I want you to contact the Republic ship and tell them to stay on standby for now. I believe we can handle our selves right now. Also, get in touch with Serenity squadron and tell them to get in their Cutlasses. I want them to be prep for launch at any time. I don't want to get swarmed by these fighter droids they have."

"Yes Shipmaster," his communications officer responded.

Slowly, the _Johnson_ moved forward to intercept the CIS ships. The _Spirit Adventurer_ tried numerous times to hail them and tell them it was suicide to go up against them on 6:1 odds. But all they got in return was the message "1:1".

Kado then spoke again.

"Athena, are we in firing range?"

"Yes Shipmaster."

"Excellent. On the count of three, fire two MAC rounds at the closest ships."

"Aye, aye Shipmaster," Athena said.

"One… Two… Three. Fire!"

And with that, two large booms echoed in space and the UANS's first battle in the Clone Wars began.

* * *

**There we go. Again sorry it took so long. But I hope it was worth it and that you enjoyed this chapter. I do not know how long the next chapter will take, but I will get to it as quickly as I can.**

**Also, Thel 'Lodamee is not the Arbiter, who is Thel 'Vadam. They just share the same first name. As Lodamee is a real character, from Halo Legends: The Package. Check him out on Halopedia. Zao, Kina Ha, Aqinos and his "Iron Knights", and the bounty hunters I described a little of are all real. Check Wookieepedia. Also, try and guest who these bounty hunters are and maybe I will put some of your ideas in my story, if you want.**

**Also, sorry if this is way too long. Please review and give me your opinions on it and other chapters.**

**Thanks Fans!**


	6. The Lesson Teacher's New Plans

**Hey people, here is something for you to read since people rarely visit my profile or don't understand what I have written.**

**I have officially canceled _To Live For Those Who Can't _and have decided to plan on a rewrite later, either a little after Halo 4 or after the entire new "Reclaimer" trilogy. I want this new story to have as much truth from both universes in it. But both universes will change as the story goes along, especially with what they know of the past.**

**I am also canceling the Sonic the Hedgehog story I started a long time ago, mainly because the story would take place in the Sonic Archie comic's universe and those are not allowed on this site. I might try and get this story started really on a site that allows fanfiction for these stories.**

**For what I am trying to do now, I am currently working on a Mass Effect/Transformers crossover. The Transformers universe that will be in use will be the movie universe. I already have a Beta Reader for this story, Gamergirl052, and I would just like to say thanks to her for how long she has waited for this story. I will put Transformers into my OC's characters profile, even though most of them aren't my own characters. It will just be ideas of how they appear and their history in the story.**

**I also may plan on writing a Lord of the Rings/Inheritance Cycle crossover, but I need to learn a bit more of the Lord of the Rings universe, though it will probably be focused mostly with the movies. I may put my ideas for OC's on my profile. The Grey Folk history will be uncovered, that will be a main focus for me in this story if it ever gets off the ground.**

**So for all you readers out, this is what I have been up to. Also, if you would like to Beta Read for any of these other stories of my when I get to them, email me/review. Even though Gamergirl052 has stated she wouldn't mind reviewing my rewrite of _To Live For Those Who Can't _when I get to it, but I think I will give her a break and just Beta Read my story at the moment. I also have a DeviantArt account and would like if any of you can draw to send me drawings of my characters and other things from my stories.**

**Well, see you later**

**~The Lesson Teacher**


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